Harry Potter and the Dormant Power
by Tez-gm
Summary: COMPLETE: Harry and his friends start their sixth year at Hogwarts. New Professors and subjects. Harry must cope with new found abilities, as well as a mysterious stranger who just might be the missing link that is Harry's life. sequel to Definitive Year.
1. Chapter 1 – An Unexpected Visit

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Ok, so I've updated this story too now (well, parts of it). It should read a bit better now, and (hopefully) I've got rid of any huge errors!

Er, since I am (apparently) one of the most 'popular' from our IMDb fanfic group…I will plug my fellow ficcers FFN addy's! We're all a big team, and generally help each other out when we get stuck with them, so…check out my C2 group.

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**Chapter 1 – An Unexpected Visit**

Another rainy day was slowly drawing to close. The rain was almost therapeutic, as it washed away the leaves and litter that had been left lying around on Privet Drive. In the house of number four however, a skinny looking boy with messy black hair and glasses was scratching away furiously at his homework.

This homework was somewhat different though, as was the boy finishing it. But Harry Potter was no ordinary boy. For one, he was a wizard. For another he was the only known survivor of a curse that had killed his parents some fifteen years ago, and he had a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead to remind him of it.

Harry rubbed his right arm, as he had been writing all day. He looked out the window of his bedroom trying hard to forget all that had happened in his two previous years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had only just begun to get over the events that unfolded during the triwizard tournament, during which time he had been an under aged participant, when something more horrible had happened.

'Sirius' Harry sighed, remembering his Godfather, and long-time friend of his father James Potter. Voldemort had figured out that Harry was able to see some of his thoughts. Knowing that Harry was not able to block them out, Voldemort had created a scene that had changed Harry's life for ever.

The image of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort was enough to convince Harry that he needed to get to the Ministry of Magic to save him. But the Dark Lord had a more sinister use for him. Voldemort had craved a prophecy that had been recorded shortly before Harry was born, and the only two people that could retrieve it were himself, and Harry.

Harry of course had no knowledge of this prophecy, until it was too late. The sight of Sirius falling through the veil, never to return, had replaced the vision that Voldemort had planted in Harry's mind.

Try as he might, Harry just couldn't forgive himself for being responsible for Sirius' death. Harry leaned back in his chair, and reminisced about the times he and Sirius had shared. From their first meeting in the Shrieking Shack, when it was thought that Sirius had wanted Harry dead, to the look on Sirius' face when Hermione and Harry had rescued him from the locked room just minutes before the Dementors were due in the tower. Harry remembered the help Sirius had given him for the triwizard tournament, and the laughs they shared at Number 12 Grimmauld Place only one year ago.

A sharp knock on the door snapped Harry's focus back to reality.

"There's someone here to see you" said the voice of Aunt Petunia, his Mother's sister.

Harry chuckled slightly to himself as he remembered the threats Mad Eye Moody had given to his Aunt and Uncle at the rail station, the day term finished.

The Dursley's had at least tried to be nicer, now they just ignored Harry totally. Harry didn't mind as it gave him time to do his school work, and also to practice some minor spells. He was now able to do this as the Ministry had lifted the restriction of underage magic, much to Harry's relief. Seeing as though the Ministry were finally convinced that Voldemort was really back, people were free to practice spells for their own safety. One of the first things he did was repair Sirius' mirror that he had shattered before he left school.

Harry got up and went downstairs, and was thinking about who it could be that was here. His first thoughts were of Ron or Hermione, his two best friends. He then thought of Remus Lupin, the sole remaining friend of Harry's father and his former Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. He remembered that it was him that had come last year to pick him up. Well not just Lupin, but a number of wizards and witches, but he was the first and one of the only ones Harry recognised.

As Harry came to the bottom of the stairs, he couldn't help but notice the looks that his cousin Dudley, and his Uncle Vernon were giving him. It was one of pure shock, like the one they wore when the Weasley's had nearly destroyed the living room two years ago when they picked Harry up to go to the Quidditch World Cup.

He thought that maybe Mad Eye had shown up, his revolving eye was certainly enough to give anyone a shock. But as he entered the living room, he suddenly realised why his relatives had a shocked look on their faces. The person standing there was not one of his friends, or Lupin, or Mad Eye. It was in fact, the one person that Harry did not expect to see for quite some time; his Potions Professor, Severus Snape.

Snape turned and saw Harry's look and sneered. "Don't worry Potter, I'm just here to give you your OWL results," and sneered again as he saw Harry's face brighten a little.

"Is there somewhere private we can go?" he asked.

Harry nodded and they both walked up to Harry's bedroom. Upon entering Snape said "Silencio. Now Potter, you are probably wondering why I'm here just to give you your results."

Harry nodded again, as he had indeed been thinking it strange,

"Well, you're right, I have come for other reasons, but we will discuss that after you read this."

Harry took the envelope and opened it cautiously, he was rather nervous about seeing his OWL's now that they were here. He looked down the parchment:

_Mr Harry James Potter,_

_Fifth Year OWL Results;  
__Grades possible –  
__Outstanding  
__Exceeds Expectations  
__Acceptable (does not count as an OWL)  
__Poor(does not count as an OWL)  
__Dreadful (does not count as an OWL)  
__Troll (does not count as an OWL)_

_**Subject  
**__Theory  
__Practical  
__Overall_

_**Astronomy  
**__E  
__A (v)  
__A_

_**Care of Magical Creatures  
**__E  
__O  
__O_

_**Charms  
**__E  
__E  
__E_

_**Defence Against the Dark Arts  
**__O  
__O (x)  
__O (x)_

_**Divination  
**__E  
__O  
__E_

_**Herbology  
**__A  
__n/a  
__A_

_**History of Magic  
**__P  
__n/a  
__P_

_**Potions  
**__O  
__E (z)  
__E (z)_

_**Transfiguration  
**__E  
__E  
__E_

_Pass marks received – 15_

_Overall Total OWL's received – 6_

_(v Note: all students received one higher grade due to unforeseen events that took place while this exam was in session)  
__(z Note: grade still under consideration)  
__(x Note: highest grade recorded this century)_

_Firstly, let me congratulate you on your OWL results. Professor McGonagall has informed me of your desire to be an Auror. You will already be aware of the necessary subjects you will be required to take to pursue this profession. It will be possible to take two further subjects. There are numerous subjects available to you for your final two years of education, of those, may I suggest the ones most likely to benefit you given your career of choice:_

_Advanced Care of Magical Creatures  
__Apparition  
__Duelling  
__Introduction to Healing  
__Introduction to Wandless Magic_

_It will of course be entirely your choice as to which subjects you wish to do, but these are the ones that I would suggest you choose from._

_Kind regards,_

_Griselda Marchbanks  
__Head of Wizarding Examinations Authority_

Harry looked up, a somewhat bemused look on his face. Snape noticed this and casually asked, "well, how did you go? Remember, I can't take points off you before school starts."

Harry chuckled at this and sighed as he replied "I got six, but I didn't get an Outstanding in Potions. So I can't be an Auror..."

"But it says it's still under consideration, correct?" Snape cut him off.

Harry wondered why he even cared, but answered, "it does, but I don't see why. I mean nothing happened to me during that exam, I got the vision of Sirius in History of Magic, not Potions."

"Fine, but you did receive an Outstanding for the theory part, much to my surprise I might add, which in some ways is more difficult than actually concocting the potion. Dumbledore has asked me to consider taking you into Advanced Potions, and I need to see your homework, before I make my final decision" Snape said.

Harry gave his Potions essay to Snape, which incidentally was about the Wolfsbane Potion, and watched as his Professor pocketed his report, and strode towards the door.

"Wait Professor!" Harry suddenly exclaimed.

Snape stopped and turned around, a look of boredom on his face. Something had been playing on Harry's mind ever since he saw that incident between Snape and his father in the pensieve, and now Harry had come to his conclusion,

"What, Potter?" he asked.

Harry replied "I'm sorry for what happened, sir."

The look on Snape's face told Harry that he had no idea what Harry was talking about.

"I'm sorry for looking in the pensieve that night, and I'm sorry that my father was always a git to you" Harry finished.

Snape arched an eyebrow, and said "while I thank you for your apology, it isn't yours that I wanted. But am I correct in assuming that you were reminded of something when you saw that?"

Harry nodded. He knew exactly how Snape felt, as Dudley had always done things like that to Harry, but without the use of magic.

"I suspected as much, I will give you an answer as to whether or not you are in my Potions class for the coming year" Snape said before removing the silencing charm and walked outside, his robes swishing behind him.

Harry stood in his room, not quite sure how to comprehend exactly what had just happened. Snape, easily the most hated Professor in Hogwarts, unless you were in Slytherin of course, had just been, well, nice.

'It doesn't make any sense at all!' Harry thought. 'First, he tells me I might still get the chance to do Potions, then when I thought he'd still be livid at me for looking in his pensieve, he just shrugs it off, weird!'

Harry just shook his head and decided to write to Ron and Hermione telling them his results, he decided against telling the two of them about the rest of it, figuring that he'd see them soon enough anyway. But Harry wasn't to know exactly how soon.


	2. Chapter 2 – A Not So Pleasant Incident A...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I think the first 'big' thing I changed was in this ch…oh, no it's not. Sorry, it's in the next chapter! All I did in this was take out the bit about Harry grabbing his broom. Since he hasn't got it back yet, he can't pack it!

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**Chapter 2 – A Not So Pleasant Incident And A Few Surprises**

The next two days went by rather quickly, as Harry, spurred on by Snape's comments, paid a lot more attention to Potions. He was in the middle of reading about how to brew Veritaserum, when a faint tapping broke his concentration.

Harry looked up and spotted Hedwig outside his window, in some degree of distress. He quickly opened his window to let her in, and noticed that she wasn't flying very steadily.

Harry's mind raced back to what had happened last year when Professor Umbridge was reading his mail.

"What happened girl? Don't tell me that someone attacked you on your way to deliver my letters" he asked.

Hedwig kept silent, so Harry tried again.

"Okay, were you attacked on your way back here then?" Harry asked and Hedwig hooted softly. Harry carried her to her cage and carefully put Hedwig on her perch and filled her tray with treats and water.

Harry then lay back on his bed, wondering why someone would bother reading his mail, after all, he only included his OWL results so what could they be after? Frustrated Harry paced around his room lost in thought. 'They attack Hedwig, knowing that she wouldn't be carrying anything too important. Voldemort knows that I know that Sirius is gone, so it can't be him unless…'

Harry didn't get a chance to finish when he thought he heard a muffled crack coming from outside. He raced over to his window and peered outside, but to no avail. The rain was too heavy and through the darkness he couldn't make out anything, 'maybe a guard like Mundungus was last year' Harry thought. But he did switch his lights off, just in case.

Harry shuddered. He didn't like this, he hated not knowing what was going on. The only reason he could come up with as to why anyone would attack Hedwig, was to see where Harry lived during the holiday's. It was this thought that bugged Harry the most, he couldn't sleep. The Dementors that attacked Dudley and himself last year were sent by Umbridge herself, so Voldemort couldn't know where he was.

Harry felt a prickle along the back of his neck, and a sudden urge to pack everything up, which he did rather quickly. He found that the cleaning spells that Tonks had used last year weren't too difficult, and he could do them reasonably well, but the shrinking spell he had more problems with. He eventually managed to shrink his trunk, but it took him three tries to shrink it enough. He pocketed his trunk, grabbed his invisibility cloak and silently crept out of his room.

Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs he froze, someone was in the living room. Harry threw his cloak over himself and silently snuck into the room to see who it was.

It was only his Uncle, or so he thought until he heard the man speak

"Darn muggles, don't they have any floo powder anywhere? Surely Potter has some somewhere, maybe in his room. It was him who I saw bring his owl back in, he should be asleep by now."

Harry had heard enough, he threw off his invisibility cloak, raised his wand and shouted "Stupefy!"

The man looked up, startled, before the spell hit. Harry watched with some satisfaction as 'Vernon' went flying backwards into the kitchen until he crunched into the sink with a sickening thud.

Harry searched the man and took his wand, 'for safe keeping' Harry told himself. He then was unsure what to do. He couldn't just leave the intruder here, and Harry couldn't send anyone an owl as Hedwig was still injured.

Harry scratched his head, "how can I contact someone quickly with no owl and no floo powder?" he thought out loud.

"What's that boy?" the real Uncle Vernon had heard the commotion and was down to investigate.

He surveyed the scene and his eyes enlarged dramatically when he saw the man slumped by the sink, "BOY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Uncle Vernon roared.

Harry flinched, but didn't need to answer when his Uncle realised that he was seeing himself and his eyes bulged even more. He looked over at Harry, dumbfounded.

"Polyjuice potion. You can become anyone you want for an hour, as long as you have the right ingredients."

Harry then quickly explained how he, Ron and Hermione had used it before, several years ago.

Uncle Vernon just stood there, "Vernon, what's going…?" Aunt Petunia had appeared, and stopped mid-sentence when she saw two Vernon's. Harry explained how Hedwig had come back injured, that he heard noises downstairs and came down to investigate. How he thought it was his uncle until he heard the man speak. Both his Aunt and Uncle were speechless throughout his story.

When he had finished his uncle just said "well, what are you going to do now?"

Harry couldn't answer that question, so he just replied "I don't know."

He tried to think of something, anything, then it hit him. "Mrs Figg!" Harry blurted out.

"Arabella Figg, what's she got to do with anything?" his Aunt asked.

"She's a squib, someone who doesn't have any mag…funny stuff, despite both her parents having it" Harry explained, careful to avoid the use of the word 'magic'. Uncle Vernon snapped up the telephone and rang Mrs Figg. Needless to say, it wasn't long before a somewhat out of breath Mrs Figg was in the living room. Harry told her what had happened, and she had the same look on her face as both Harry's Aunt and Uncle had.

Once Harry had finished retelling his story, Mrs Figg sighed and said "well, I can't say I'm not surprised. I mean with…him running around now, I'm surprised he hasn't tried something like this before now. You'd better stun him again, he looks like he's going to wake up soon" Harry nodded and did just that.

"If it is Polyjuice, we'll know soon enough, I mean the hour must be over soon" and as he spoke those words, Harry looked over and saw the man changing. It was similar to waiting in Professor Moody's office while the fake Moody was revealed to be Barty Crouch, only unlike then, Harry recognised this person straight away.

"Wormtail" he spat.

The adults looked on with confusion, so Harry explained what had transpired from his third year at Hogwarts to the present. All of them looked shocked, especially Aunt Petunia.

"So this man is the same man that betrayed your parents, and you didn't let anyone kill him. Why?" asked Uncle Vernon.

"I didn't think my Dad would've wanted his two best friends be locked in Azkaban for murdering him, despite the fact that that's what Sirius was chucked in there for in the first place" Harry told them.

Then an idea struck him, it might not work, but Harry had to try. He grabbed his trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it back to normal size. He threw back the lid, and rummaged through his trunk and pulled out a mirror, the one Sirius had given him during his last year.

He held it up and said "Sirius Black."

Nothing happened.

Just as Harry's face fell, he had another idea, he held it up again and spoke "Remus Lupin", the mirror glowed slightly and the surprised voice of Harry's old Defence Professor could be heard through the mirror.

"Harry? What's wrong, has something happened?" Remus asked, and for the third time that night, Harry recounted the events of the day.

When he was finished, there was silence before Lupin spoke again,

"Harry, I think there's more to this than we think. I'm flooing over straight away and bringing Peter back with me, then Dumbledore can figure out what to do next."

The sound of the fire roaring startled everyone but Harry, and as Remus dusted himself off, he looked over to Harry and smiled.

"You can't come with me to Sirius' yet, but soon, okay?"

Harry nodded, and gave Peter's wand to his former Professor before Remus grabbed Peter's arm, a little more roughly than was necessary, then dropped it again. He clutched his own hand before saying, "that…that's a silver hand, isn't it!"

Harry looked confused but nodded. Remus grabbed some floo powder from his robes and gave it to Harry.

"Get anyone else okay, I'm not feeling too flash."

Harry nodded still puzzled, but ran over to the fireplace, stood inside and said clearly "12 Grimmauld Place" and proceeded to disappear in a bright green blaze of light.

Harry still felt dizzy as he stepped out of the fireplace. He looked around, and wasn't surprised when he heard Mrs Wealsely's voice float through to where Harry was

"Remus, is Harry alright, I do hope that…Harry! What are you doing here? Where's Remus?"

Harry held up his hand and said "he's still at my Uncle's place, but he needs someone to come pick him up, I don't understand it, but for some reason he couldn't grab Peter. He asked me about Peter's silver hand and..."

"Oh, Harry, don't you see, silver is incredibly harmful to werewolves! I'll go and get him right now. I'll take you back too, you can come back in a couple of days all right? Ron and Ginny aren't here yet, nor is Hermione. Arthur and myself only arrived here today"

Harry was about to protest but he didn't get the chance as Mrs Weasley grabbed his arm and dragged him into the fire and told him to say the address the same time as she did "4 Privet Drive", and the familiar feeling of giddiness returned as Harry staggered back into his Aunt and Uncle's living room. When Harry finally regained his sense of direction, he looked around and saw that Molly, Remus and Peter had disappeared. Mrs Figg was gone, and his Aunt and Uncle had gone back to bed. Harry was alone, once again.


	3. Chapter 3 – Bad Hair Day

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Righto, if you want a side story for what happened to Remus when he flooed back to Grimmauld Place…that is what Apprentice is all about.

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**Chapter 3 – Bad Hair Day**

The next two days went quickly, which wasn't surprising seeing as though Harry had only woken up in the early afternoon. He finished up his homework, and was about to crawl back into bed when the booming voice of his Uncle said "that…that, MAN that was here a week ago is back. I'm sending him upstairs to _your_ room."

Harry smiled at this. He could just imagine the look on Snape's face after hearing that. Harry opened the door just as Snape arrived at the top of the stairs. As he walked inside, he again cast the silencing charm on Harry's room and asked "how in Merlin's name could you possibly live with those…_creatures_! I'm guessing that they treat you like that all the time."

Harry chuckled and replied "no actually, you got off pretty lightly. I'm surprised they didn't call you a freak. They refuse to use the words magic, wizard, and witch, it's quite pathetic really."

For the first time that Harry could ever remember, Snape actually looked shocked. He quickly recovered before replying "I see. Well first things first, Dumbledore would like to know how did you know what was going on that night?"

Harry told him the events including the part about Peter's hand and Remus' reaction. At the end of it, Snape just nodded and said "that's what I got told what had happened, and that's why I'm here. After our discussion, I will be escorting you to the Order's headquarters."

"How?" asked Harry "we used brooms last time."

"Apparating" Snape coolly replied.

Harry just stared, had he heard right? Did Snape just say that he, Harry, would be apparating? Snape saw Harry's response and sneered "don't worry Potter, it's not that difficult. Even you should be able to do it correctly without splinching yourself."

"But I've never even tried to apparate before, I'm underage remember" Harry replied, but Snape just rolled his eyes.

"You also hadn't flown a broom before Hogwarts, and you seemed to be able to do that rather easily."

"Yeah, but that was inbred, I must've got that from my Dad!" Harry countered, and finally Snape looked into Harry's eyes and said

"And so is apparating, the Dark Lord is rather good at it. Therefore with the connection you share with him, like your ability to speak parseltongue, you should find it just as easy as flying, trust me."

After what seemed like hours of having Snape explain to Harry the concept of Apparition, like how to do it and what its purposes are, he was finally ready to begin training.

"Concentrate, Potter, think about exactly where you are. Every detail, every floor marking, every wall, then think of the place where you want to be, and focus on every detail of that place" Snape had told him.

"I'm trying my best all right!" Harry nearly yelled, and turned only to find Snape not where he was mere seconds ago.

"What just happened?" asked Harry.

Snape curled his lip,

"I told you you'd find it easy, Potter."

After Harry had recovered from the shock of actually doing something right the first time, Snape then taught him how to focus on long distance travel. He explained about having to 'feel' the place where you want to be, or 'sense' the person you want to apparate to (like the Death Eaters do when the Dark Mark burns and Voldemort wants them at his side).

Finally, Harry was ready to apparate to Grimmauld place. He had shrunk his trunk again, only taking two attempts this time, and was about to go when he realised he had forgotten about Hedwig. How could he apparate and take her with him?

He asked Snape who was taking off the silencing charm, and he replied "if you're holding the cage it'll go with you, I'll show you" and with that, Snape had snatched Harry's hand along with Hedwig's cage and with a 'crack', they were gone.

The next thing Harry knew was that he was in the living room of Grimmauld Place again. Harry decided that Apparition was much easier than floo powder as he didn't feel dizzy. Snape stood beside him before saying,

"Before I go, Potter, that essay you did on the Wolfsbane Potion was quite impressive. You are permitted to enrol in my potions class…if you want to that is."

With that, Harry's Professor walked through the hallway and left Harry in the living room.

Harry was still getting over the fact that his dream to be an Auror was alive, and was grateful to Dumbledore for persuading Snape to let him in his class, when Harry's concentration was broken by a squeal. His vision was once again obscured by brown bushy hair.

"Oh Harry, how are you! We only just arrived here an hour ago. How did you get here so quickly?"

"Er, air please Hermione!" Harry choked out. Hermione let him go and started to apologise profusely, but Harry shrugged her off.

"I'm fine Hermione. Well, I am now after what happened two nights ago" seeing her confused look, Harry quickly added, "I'll tell you and Ron later okay, and I got here by apparating."

Hermione scowled. "You're underage, you can't do that!"

Harry smirked and replied "yes, I'd normally agree with you, but I didn't apparate here alone. Snape brought me."

"That's _Professor_ Snape, Harry. And a fine job he did too."

Both Hermione and Harry wheeled around to face the person whose voice that belonged to, Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed "I didn't realise you were here."

"Of course you didn't" replied the headmaster, "but I will ask you to join us in the kitchen, Harry. You need to tell us exactly what happened, particularly as to how you knew that something was wrong."

Harry nodded and was about to ask, but Dumbledore beat him "yes Harry, Hermione can come too, after all, everyone else is waiting for you" he smiled as he gestured towards the kitchen.

Once inside Harry recognised everyone. Apart from Snape, Dumbledore, Hermione and himself, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there, along with Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a much better looking Remus Lupin, who smiled at Harry when he entered.

Harry told them what had happened two nights ago, about how he noticed that Hedwig was injured, how he heard a faint 'pop' outside, about having this feeling that something was wrong so he packed his gear up. How he went downstairs under his invisibility cloak, saw Pettigrew who was using Polyjuice potion to impersonate Harry's Uncle. And lastly what had happened to Lupin when he tried to take Pettigrew back.

After a short silence, during which time Harry was running his hand through his hair starting to get annoyed wishing that someone would actually say something, it was Shacklebolt who asked,

"But how did you know something was wrong?"

"Instinct I s'pose" said Harry.

"No Harry, that wasn't instinct. Instinct alone wouldn't make you pack everything up. Nor would it have you wait until you heard Peter's voice" Lupin replied.

Another silence followed, with Dumbledore breaking it this time "I think, Harry, you have discovered a hidden power. One that allows you to sense presences, both good and evil…"

"Harry, how did you do that!" exclaimed Ron

"I just told you Ron, I had a feeling…"

"No Harry," it was Ginny this time "your hair, it's…well, messier. Not only that, you're er...glowing!"

Harry looked down at his hands and realised that Ginny was right, he was glowing a soft white colour.

"Er, I don't know. I just…well I was wishing that someone would say something, and I was starting to get annoyed when no one did. But I don't have any idea what's going on!"

Lupin had his hand over his mouth in disbelief then he spoke "I believe it's time, Harry."

"What do you mean, Professor?"

Lupin chuckled "I haven't been your Professor for two years, Harry, please call me Remus. But in answer to your question, I believe that your _being annoyed_ at us, plus all the anger over what happened in the Department of Mysteries, you've experienced a tremendous power surge."

Then suddenly, a new voice could be heard laughing from behind them.

"Well done Remus, you were paying attention to me after all. I told you he was more powerful than you could imagine."

A deathly silence followed.


	4. Chapter 4 – Interrogations

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Interrogations**

A quite short, blond-haired man was leaning casually against the wall, his hazel eyes almost twinkling with amusement behind his thin rimmed pair of glasses. He was dressed in long black pants, black boots, white shirt and a long black trench coat.

It was Dumbledore who broke the silence first, "Excuse me, but I do believe we've met before Mr…?"

"Fuller, Trent Fuller. Nice to see you Albus, it's been what…20 years? You really didn't think I'd just vanish _again_, did you?" Trent smirked.

"Of course not," Dumbledore replied, "I'm just curious as to how exactly you managed to get in here without anyone seeing you, that's all"

Trent's eyebrows arched up, "I see, but if I remember rightly, I told you and everyone else who asked, that I have my ways. After all, who do you think helped keep the Dementors off Sirius' back while he was escaping, hmm?"

"You knew my Godfather?!" Harry blurted out.

"Yes Mr. Potter, I did know him. I attended Hogwarts for a year, being posted as an Auror during 'He-Whose-Name-Must-Be-Hyphenated' first reign some two decades ago."

Tonks burst out laughing when she heard this man make fun of Voldemort's name and between gasps, managed to say, "That's brilliant! Can I steal that…please?!"

"I don't see why not," Trent shrugged. "But I'm here for a different reason. Remus, you know what I'm capable of. I expect you to make the necessary arrangements, while I go and see what I can drag out of Peter," then he smirked maliciously and said, "Unless you'd rather have the fun this time."

Remus grinned. "You know, I think I'll take you up on that offer. But I want to help Harry, remember that _was_ the deal."

"Yes I know. Ok, how's this then. You go and interrogate Peter, while I'm also getting interrogated by this lot," he waved his arm towards the rest of the Order, "Then, after that, we take young Mr. Potter here and help with his…development."

Remus smiled, "Sounds good to me, just make sure you play nice, all right."

Trent looked taken aback. "Remus Lupin, are you suggesting that _I_ have a habit of not playing nice? I'm shocked, but I will try my best. Now you'd better be going, Peter will be waking up in about…10 minutes I'd reckon. Oh and watch his hand this time!"

With that, Trent grabbed Remus, and vanished in an orange light. Then, seconds later, a faint 'pop' was heard and Trent was back, but Remus was gone.

Needless to say, after this happened, Trent found himself on the wrong end of nine wands all pointing at him. It was Dumbledore, who again spoke up, "I suggest you put your wands away, if I recall rightly they won't help you. Besides, Trent can be trusted, but I'm surprised that you elected to take Remus for training. May I ask why?"

Trent looked into Dumbledore's eyes, deep hazel meeting twinkling blue before replying, "He was the best choice, what with his heightened senses and strength. He was perfect for me to take on as an apprentice. Besides, you should probably know that he's hiding roughly ninety percent of his power."

Harry looked over towards Dumbledore, only to be greeted with a sight that not many people had seen before. Dumbledore's mouth was agape, he was speechless.

Before Dumbledore could regain his sense of speech, Trent sat down in the chair vacated by Remus and leant back. He looked somewhat bored before saying, "I believe I have some explaining to do, correct?" he asked no one in particular.

After an hour and a half, during which Trent did all of the talking, explaining that while he was a wizard, he had many more abilities than just being magical. When pressed upon this issue, he had shrugged them off saying that all will be revealed in time. He was the descendant of an ancient family who were experts in martial arts and meditation, he was quite proficient in wandless magic. He had proved this by calmly levitating everyone's chairs, including his own, with everyone still sitting in them, before letting the chairs slowly drift to the ground once again.

He then proceeded to tell them that he had spent the majority of the last fifteen years in a deep meditative state, slowly awakening the true depths of his power. He had come to Grimmauld Place after he had felt Harry's power surge, and knew that it was time for him to develop his powers further. Harry had been rather stunned when Trent told him that expected that Harry should easily surpass Trent's own magical power, and should be able to comfortably defend himself against Voldemort.

After Dumbledore had managed to get Trent to agree to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts (both the normal classes and the Advanced ones), along with Apparition, and Duelling. Hermione spoke up and stated that it would impossible for Trent to teach all those subjects. Trent just smiled politely, then stood up pointed his wand at himself, and spoke an incantation and a light yellow light was given off. When it faded away, four Trents could be seen leaning on the wall chuckling at the astonished looks on everyone's faces.

Harry had thought to himself that there was a lot more to Trent than meets the eye, and was stunned when he heard Trent say that he was right. It wasn't that Harry was shocked to find out, it was more _how_ he had found out. Trent was a telepath, and told Harry in no uncertain terms to keep that to himself. Harry then let his mind wander and wondered how Remus was getting on with Peter.

* * *

When Peter had woken, he found himself in a completely bare room with white walls and roof. A long table was in the middle of the room, with two chairs on either side on it. Peter thought it was strange that he was not restrained in any way, he even had his wand on him. Peter shrugged, and thought he'd try to find out what was going on. He wasn't really that surprised of course, when he was unable to use his wand to get out of the room. All his spells just seemed to dissipate after hitting the walls.

It was after this, that Peter allowed himself to think about what had gone wrong the other night: "Find Potter and bring him to me!" ordered his master. He had known about Petunia Evans, after all she was Lily's sister, but it had taken him quite a while to connect what he had heard Potter talking to the Weasley boy when he was posing as Scabbers. The name 'Dursley' meant nothing to him then, but now he couldn't believe his own stupidity. Lily's sister must have married and changed her name to Dursley.

Peter was unable to find out an actual address, when he happened to spot an owl flying overhead. Normally he wouldn't have paid it any attention, except that this owl was snowy white, it had to be Potter's! He'd managed to somehow bring the bird down, and after reading the letters, he scowled to himself, nothing important, so he decided to put a tracking charm on the owl and see where it went to.

He apparated at the street sign bearing the name 'Privet Drive'. Peter could just make out the owl disappearing into house number 4 through the driving rain. 'Right, so that's where Potter spends his summers, now how to get in? Potter will recognise me, but what if…' Peter's thoughts drifted to the vial of Polyjuice potion he had tucked in his robes, if he could just grab a hair of someone else who lives in the house, he would be able to grab Potter and leave before anyone would realise.

His eyes glanced up to the chimney and he smiled, 'I can just floo Potter and…oh no, I don't have any powder! Potter might have some though. Guess I'll have to find out.' Peter stopped outside the house and transformed into his rat animagus form. Due to his heightened senses, Peter was able to sniff out several strands of hair nearby the door.

He just hoped that the Dursleys didn't have any pets or the potion would be useless. He transformed back, dropped the hair in, pinched his noise, and drank the vile potion. He felt himself changing, and looked down at his hands and saw them swell up until stubby fingers had replaced his.

'Well, it worked, now to grab Potter,' he thought as silently, Peter entered 4 Privet Drive. He remembered looking around for anything that looked remotely like floo powder. He remembered cursing himself, and then the shock of Harry stunning him before darkness claimed him.

His thoughts were interrupted when a vaguely familiar voice spat, "So good of you to join me, Peter."

He whirled around and came face to face with his one-time school friend. "Re...Remus, it's been a long time. Please forgive me, I...I didn't mean anything, I've left the Dark Lord and was just looking out for James' son…"

"Forget it Peter, I'm not falling for it, nor are you getting away like last time," Remus cut him off.

Peter looked around, trying desperately to find a way out, then remembered he still had his wand and allowed himself to smirk. "Well Remus, unlike last time, I have my wand, and I don't see yours, but I want to make this as painful as possible, so I'll just use my new addition my master gave me."

He lunged at the werewolf knowing his silver hand will cause more pain than any spell Peter knew. What he wasn't prepared for though, was Remus to casually grab Peter's outstretched arm and fling him across the room where he crashed onto the floor with a thump.

Peter got up a little gingerly and saw the somewhat amused look on his former friend's face. "How...how did you do that?!" Peter screamed. "You should be rolling on floor writhing in pain!"

"Well, it's a good thing that I found a way around it isn't it. You see, Peter, something amazing happened over the last few days. I'm no longer a werewolf. I still have the heightened senses and strength, but no longer have to suffer through the transformations. Ergo your pathetic attempt at trying to kill me with that new hand of yours won't work. In short, I've been cured."

The look on Peter's face was priceless, in reality he was thunderstruck. "What do you mean cured? The closest thing there is to a cure is the Wolfsbane, but it's hardly a cure!"

Remus looked somewhat amused and replied, "I'm _so_ glad you informed me of that, in case you forgot, I would be using it. However I was shown something new by an old friend and it cured me. But enough of that, let's get down to business. Why were you sneaking around Harry's house?"

Peter didn't answer, but was brought out of his thoughts by a new voice that surrounded the room.

"Remus, hurry up will you. I'm getting bored here, and unless I'm mistaken you should already know what the little rat was doing, after all, I did teach you telepathy right? Even if you weren't using it, I already know what he was thinking about a while ago before you came in, so hurry up and get back! I need your help in figuring out what I should teach for Defence classes this year, and wipe that grin off your face! So what's a few galleons to me anyway. If you're not back in fifteen seconds, I'll deal with Peter myself!"

Remus scowled, "Fine, I'll do this your way then."

The last thing Peter remembered before nothingness, was a rush of energy flying towards him and Remus saying, "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Peter. But despite the Marauder's oath, I'll bow to Harry's wishes. See you soon, old friend."


	5. Chapter 5 – Pranks And Preparations

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Pranks And Preparations**

"Right, well if that's all the questions you can think of asking me, Remus should be back in…"

Trent was interrupted as a shout was heard in the next room, "Blaze you git, what'd you do that for! I'm going to kill you!" as a purple haired and high-heeled Remus Lupin somewhat unsteadily walked into the room.

Fred and George burst out laughing, along with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Tonks and even Dumbledore had to suppress a chuckle.

"Why blame me, the twins have a somewhat better reputation for that kind of thing than me" Trent calmly stated, but Remus scowled,

"Because only you would have known exactly where and when I'd be coming back. So that cuts out those two!"

"Ok, ok, fine. Don't get your knickers in a knot. Jeez Remus, for a fellow prankster you sure get grouchy when on the wrong end of one."

Before Remus could reply, Fred blurted out "what do you mean, fellow prankster? How come we never knew that?"

It was Harry that answered Fred's question. "You'd better be nice, Fred. After all, Moony was proud that you two carried on in his footsteps, weren't you Prof…Remus."

George jumped up and cried "you mean Remus is Moony...from the Marauders...and you knew and didn't tell us! Why Harry, my brother and I are deeply hurt!"

"Indeed we are, George. You'll have to tell us the other three Remus, or we'll add a nice tutu to go with your hair!" Fred added.

"Fine, but I'll tell you later, after I get my revenge on that git over there" Remus snarled glaring at Trent, who was doing his best I'm-not-here-no-one-can-see-me look.

"So…ah, how'd the interrogation go Remus? I trust you got what you wanted from him" Trent asked politely.

Remus' face lit up somewhat "well, now you mention it, yes, I got what I wanted out of him, and disposed of him accordingly."

It was Harry's turn to jump out of his seat. "WHAT! You didn't kill him, did you Remus? Remember you promised me you wouldn't, please I don't want you to go to Azkaban for that rodent…"

"Relax. He didn't kill him, death would be too good for him. No, actually, Albus you'll find a nice present waiting for you when we get back to Hogwarts. Just make sure you clear Sirius' name, I know it'll mean the world to both Remus and Harry."

"Of course, I shall see to it as soon as I get back. Getting a trustworthy reporter might be a trifle more difficult though" Dumbledore mused.

Harry then remembered, and turned to one of his friends,

"Hermione, what happened to Rita, her year's up. Did you let her go?"

"Yes Harry, I kept my end of the deal. I'll see if I can convince her to help. After all, it'll be two scoop stories she would've got, so I don't see a problem. The Ministry on the other hand…" Hermione replied.

It was Arthur who spoke up "I wouldn't worry about the Ministry, Hermione. We'll just mention that it was Peter who brought You-Know-Who back, and they'll do anything to make sure Sirius is cleared of all the charges"

"Speaking of deals" Remus grinned, and Trent groaned.

"Yes, fine. You do realise that's why I did that to you, you know."

Everyone looked somewhat confused, even Dumbledore, Remus chuckled

"I had a little wager with Mr. Fuller that you would convince him to take the Defence post. Needless to say, seeing as though he said when _we_ get back, am I correct that you were able to persuade him?"

"Shut up Remus! I've always wondered what you'd look like with a pink tutu!"

Dinner came and went, with just the general chatter amongst the group. Charlie was talking to Harry about the first task in the triwizard tournament a couple years ago telling him what an ingenious idea it was for Harry to fly rather than trying to beat it on the ground. Fred and George were no doubt making up new inventions they could use for their store. Tonks was changing her facial features at Ginny's and Hermione's requests. Trent was trying to convince Severus to help him with the Duelling classes, then proceeded to chat with Moody and Kingsley about Aurors.

It was just after nine in the evening when Albus, Minerva and Severus all decided to go back to Hogwarts. Remus reminded Trent that he should also go, to prepare for his classes and that he'd help him. Trent brushed him off saying that he had to get the room ready for Harry's training.

Remus had decided to go with Trent to help get the room ready. Needless to say, Harry and his friends were becoming somewhat concerned as to what exactly was so important about this room. But Remus had assured them that all would be revealed when he started his training, which Dumbledore insisted on starting after Harry's birthday. Kingsley, and Tonks also decided to leave, as they had work tomorrow, and the rest decided to get an early night.

As Harry was lying in bed trying to let sleep claim him, Ron broke the silence,

"What d'you reckon your training will be like?"

"I dunno, but if I can even do half of the stuff that Trent did, I'll be happy. I mean, how did he find us so quick? Not to mention his wandless magic, that was cool!" Harry replied.

"Yeah, you're right on that mate. Did you see Lupin's face when he came back, that was wicked!"

"He did mention martial arts, so I s'pose I'll be learning how to fight like that. It'll be interesting though, that's for sure, but I don't know what's so special about this room he kept on mentioning. I mean, a room's a room right? Unless it's something like the Room of Requirement, but I mean, you don't need to prepare that, it just suits your needs as you think it."

"It could be like one of those multi-room trunks that are around."

"Maybe. Professor Moody had one of those, it had seven compartments, so you might be right. Anyway, I think I'll worry about it when the time comes, g'night Ron."

"Night Harry."

* * *

The next morning started with a bang, literally. Harry was woken by the sound of an explosion, then

"DAMN IT REMUS! I SWEAR, EVERY TIME I THINK YOU CAN'T RAISE THE STAKES ANY HIGHER, YOU PROVE ME WRONG! RIGHT THEN, WE'LL PLAY BY YOUR RULES. LET THE PRANKING BEGIN!"

Harry was then greeted with the sight of Trent Fuller bursting into his and Ron's room, sporting a rather fetching rainbow coloured afro, and a very revealing dress.

"Er, that doesn't really suit you, Mr. Fuller."

Trent snorted "no kidding, Potter" then a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "May I please borrow a spare set of robes, as this won't wear off for a while if I know Remus."

Ron grabbed one of his robes and handed it to Trent.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a certain stubborn old wolf boy that needs to be taught a lesson. And for that, I'll need to visit two of your brothers!"

George was just exiting his room when Trent arrived and pushed him back into it "hey, what're you…wow, nice hair, Trent!"

"Shut it, Weasley. I need your assistance in getting a certain someone back for this."

George got an evil glint in his eye and woke Fred up, and together they spent the better part of an hour coming up with a plan to out-Marauder the smartest Marauder.

* * *

Remus Lupin was happily humming to himself when the explosion went off, but was surprised at how long it took Trent to come into the kitchen for breakfast. When he finally did, right behind the twins, who all had their wands drawn, his heart stopped.

"Oh no, I'm _so_ dead" and then took off at top speed. But not before Trent, Fred and George all got their fair share of hexes in, which didn't seem to do anything.

It wasn't until later on that Remus figured out what exactly happened. He walked into the living room where Harry, Ron and Bill were discussing Quidditch, when they stopped and looked at Remus. Each wore a look of shock on their faces.

"Er, you should probably put some clothes on, Remus. That's even worse than Trent this morning."

Remus looked down but couldn't see anything wrong. "What, I don't see any problem?"

"Ah, then he did get you back. Maybe you can't see it, but to us, you ah, aren't wearing anything but your underwear" Ron replied.

Remus looked horrified. "Right then, I think I need to pay a visit to a certain rainbow haired…" but before he could finish, he crashed to the ground as his shoes had somehow been transfigured into roller skates and a silencing charm had been put on him.

"You were saying, Remus? Hope you had a nice _trip_. I need to talk to Mr. Potter, so if you'd kindly remove yourself from the floor, that would be much appreciated" Trent said, his eyes twinkling much like Dumbledore's do, then turned to Harry.

"Righto, due to the events at the Department of Mysteries, you have acquired something that Voldemort might find somewhat useful. Therefore, I'll pick up Occlumency with you where Severus stopped, all right?"

"Ok, but I don't really know how I'm supposed to clear my mind, so I won't be that great at it" Harry said

"Don't worry about it. I doubt he even gave you enough time to prepare yourself for it, so we'll go over the basics first then. Meet me in your room after dinner, ok?"

Harry nodded and Trent then walked past Remus who was still sprawled out on the floor and laughed.

"For Merlin's sake Remus, put some clothes on. You'll scar Molly for life" he said before pulling him up onto his feet.

Trent dumped a bag into Remus' hand "I believe that was the deal, now if you'll come with me so we can prepare what I'm supposed to be teaching this year."

Remus scowled and then they both went into the kitchen, leaving Harry, Ron and Bill all looking rather amused.

After Trent and Remus had gone, Bill spoke up "I wonder why those two get on like that, I mean, Trent said he was only at Hogwarts for a year…"

"But Remus was his apprentice or something, so they must've become friends during that time. Something is different though."

"What d'you mean, Harry, different how?"

"I dunno. Remus seems more…relaxed than I can remember, and he's never mentioned Trent before. There's something strange going on, I can feel it."

Dinner passed quietly, although no one missed the glares that Remus and Trent were giving each other. Before long it was time for Harry to restart his Occlumency lessons, this time with Trent. He wasn't expecting Trent to just give him a book on meditation techniques to read and try some of the ideas. But Trent had explained that it's much easier to clear your mind when you're in a peaceful state of mind, and he'd prefer Harry to find someway to do this, before teaching him how to defend himself against any attacks Voldemort might try.

Harry had sat on his bed and was part way through the second chapter, when Remus walked in, fully clothed thankfully, and broached the subject that Harry had been trying to avoid all summer

"Harry, I think it's time we have a talk about Sirius."

Harry winced "Do we have to, I don't really want to yet…"

"Nor do I, but the longer we put it off, the harder it will be when we finally get around to it. Once Gringotts is made aware of the fact that Sirius has moved on, they'll be sending an owl to those who are mentioned in his will. Now I have absolutely no idea who else is in it, but I do know that you'll be getting most of it. He loved your more than you can imagine, Harry…"

"Then why'd he have to die!" Harry shouted.

Remus flinched slightly. "He died doing what he swore he would do. He gave everything to protect you, just like he promised James and Lily he would two days before…well, you know."

Harry sat quietly before looking up at his former Professor, tears starting to form in his green eyes.

"It doesn't change the fact that if I hadn't been stubborn enough to not listen to Hermione when she said it could be a trick, he'd still be alive. It's all my fault."

Remus sat down next to Harry, and comforted the sobbing young wizard.

"Harry…I don't really know what I can say to help, but if it's any comfort for you, I felt exactly the same after James, Lily and at the time, Peter died, and when Sirius got thrown in Azkaban without a trial. I wanted so much for it to have been a dream. Everyone I cared about was gone. Do you want to know the only thing that kept me going?"

"Not really, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway" Harry replied, wiping away his tears.

"It was you, Harry. You were all I had left. I knew that if you died, that really would be the end for me. I couldn't let that happen. I pleaded with Albus to let me take you in, but of course he didn't. He kept saying that your safety was the most important thing, so when the chance came for me to teach you in 1993, I jumped at it. You never cease to amaze me Harry; a fully fledged Patronus, youngest triwizard winner, duelling Voldemort to a draw" Remus sighed and wiped away a tear that had formed in his eye.

"You've probably faced more in your fifteen years than anyone else will in two lifetimes. I know you hate the attention, and would give everything just to be normal, but until Voldemort's gone, I'm afraid that won't be possible"

"I know it's just…I now know why he wants me dead, I was so angry after Dumbledore told me, he could've told me when I'd finished my first year, but didn't. Now because of it, Sirius is gone, if I'd known what was going on, I wouldn't have gone there in the first place."

"He would've found a way, Potter, you know that" Trent said as he stood in the doorway.

"How long have you been there, you'd better…?"

"Don't worry, I only heard the bit about how Albus should've told you something ages ago. I just came up to tell you that after tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet, you'll need to go back home for a while, until Gringotts send Sirius' will. Owls can't get to this place as it's unplottable.

"Remember this though Potter. Don't let your anger get the best of you, that's what Voldemort did. Instead, use it as a tool, to remind you what you're fighting for. Remus and myself will teach you more when your training starts. Also, Severus dropped off a few vials of Dreamless Sleep Draft, I've got them in my room. Let me know if you want one all right? Good night gentlemen" Trent said before exiting the room.

Remus looked at Harry "I think I might take one of those tonight, do you want me to grab one for you?" Harry nodded and Remus got up and walked to the door.

"Pr…Remus? How'd you get to be such good friends with Trent anyway? I mean how long was your apprenticeship, and why'd you call him Blaze last night?"

Remus chuckled "I got to know him when he was at Hogwarts, I was in my final year at the time. I became much better friends with him during my one year apprenticeship, after he showed me some quite amazing things. As for calling him Blaze, well…let's just say that you don't want to see him angry, his eyes blaze like fire, hence the nickname. By the way, how'd you go in your OWL's? Hermione got O's for everything except Astronomy, and Ron got five, I don't know who was more stunned, Molly, Hermione or Ron himself."

Harry grinned "yeah, I can imagine. I got six. I got an A for my Astronomy and Herbology practicals, and a P for History of Magic. I even got the highest Defence practical grade this century, and I owe most of that to you."

"Well, I can't take all the credit, Harry. As Trent said the day he came, you are rather powerful. Anyway I'll go and get a couple vials of Dreamless Draft, ok. Good night Harry."

"Thanks Remus, g'night"

After Remus came back, Harry swallowed the potion and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6 – Every Dog Has His Day

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Thanks to those who've reviewed, it lets me know that I'm not just writing this story for the heck of it. I've changed some stuff in the previous 5 chapters (on some gentle advice given to me, thanks mate!), to make it (hopefully) a bit easier to read and understand (ie, like lines between 'new' sections. Oh and I changed the article from being in the Quibbler, to being a Daily Prophet one alright).

Before I forget, I'm going to try something a little different. Up until now, I've been writing the story, trying to make it flow. Where I'm at now (I've written roughly twice what I've actually posted) I'm kind of starting to run a little dry of what I can do (they've gotten back to Hogwarts, and describing lessons aren't my forte I've discovered).

So I've started to just write scenes as they come to me, then figure out where to put them, and how to link it together. Basically, what I'm saying is, I've already written the ending for this, but you won't see it for a while yet!

As for me updating, there's what…8 weeks until Xmas (AAAAARRRGGGHH! Where'd the year go!)! I'm not going to have access to my story for a while (I'm going home for 3 weeks), but I should have put up everything I've done thus far up before I go. I might try to just write the whole thing, then break it down. So if I haven't updated for a while, you'll know why!

Anyway, enough stalling, here's the next chapter, and a good dose of Sirius to boot.

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Every Dog Has His Day**

Harry awoke after having one of the best night's sleep he'd had in a good while. He was trying to work a crick out of his neck as he wandered into the kitchen and found Molly Weasley cooking up breakfast.

Harry looked around the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Molly was standing over the hotplate in her customary robes, while the kettle was pouring tea and coffee by itself. The bread was being toasted by a flick of Molly's wand 'the wonders of cooking with magic' Harry thought. Molly didn't notice Harry was there until she turned around to check on the beverages.

"Harry dear, how are you this morning?" she said over a pan of sizzling sausages. "Remus told me your OWL results."

She smiled "I'm very proud of you, and I'm sure your parents and Sirius would be too."

"I was quite surprised myself actually" Harry said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

He looked about. "Has today's Daily Prophet arrived yet?" he said. "Trent told me and Remus that something about going back to the Dursleys after getting it."

"No, he didn't mention anything to me," said Mrs. Weasley, "but then again he is oddly quiet most of the time…well, when he's not after Remus of course."

Harry was reminded of the pranks the day before, and wondered what jokester would pick up the title of 'Hogwarts' Pranksters' now that the Weasley twins had retired.

Harry was bounced out of his thoughts when an overly excited Remus Lupin came bounding into the kitchen, beaming.

"Harry!" he exclaimed. "You _have_ to see this! Rita kept her promise, and…well just read it. Morning Molly!"

Harry grabbed the Daily Prophet out of Remus' hands and stared at the title on the front page (SIRIUS BLACK – HERO, NOT VILLIAN) before flipping to the article and reading itself.

_GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT – SIRIUS ORION BLACK 1959 – 1996_

_By Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent:-_

_In a dramatic announcement yesterday afternoon, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, cleared Sirius Black of all charges he was imprisoned for on that unforgettable day nearly 15 years ago._

_Minister Fudge spoke to an assembled group of onlookers in front of the Ministry of Magic today in an official press conference. He addressed the Black incident with sadness._

"_After extenuating circumstances that took place in the Ministry of Magic in June, along with recent evidence, it is my pleasure to formally clear Sirius Black of all charges he was previously held accountable for" said Fudge, who was interrupted by spontaneous gasps and applause._

"_It wasn't he who was the Potter's secret keeper, instead he was used as a decoy, knowing that You-Know-Who would most likely to come after him," Fudge said._

_When pressed on the issue, the Minister replied in short fashion. "In actual fact, it was Pettigrew himself who was the Secret Keeper, and it was he who gave them away AND killed those muggles when Black confronted him. We have dealt with this issue however, and Pettigrew will pay for his crimes."_

_Fudge described that he was given evidence from Pettigrew himself, under the influence of Veritaserum, who confessed to the crimes. Pettigrew is currently imprisoned in an undisclosed, protected cell, the "most secure we have," said Fudge._

_When asked if he meant Azkaban, the Minister smiled and said "ah, that would be telling wouldn't it, we can't risk anyone knowing exactly where."_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, then stepped forward and told the gathered crowd that Sirius had broken out of Azkaban three years ago to pursue Pettigrew, not Harry Potter like previously reported. Dumbledore also told the amazed crowd that Pettigrew, Black and the late James Potter were all illegal animagi, with Black's form being that of a large black dog (which this correspondent has been told looked just like the Grim), Potter's being that of a stag and Pettigrew's being a rat . _

_Several witches and wizards in the crowd were heard to mutter phrases like "how appropriate."_

_Dumbledore described what actually transpired that night in the Ministry. He detailed how You-Know-Who (who Dumbledore called He-Whose-Name-Must-Be-Hyphenated -- amid a sea of laughter) was after an item that resided in the Department of Mysteries (DoM), and how a select group of people had come to defend against that from happening. _

_Sirius Black was one of those who was heavily involved in the ensuing fight, during which time several Death Eaters were captured. Unfortunately for Black, his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange, who had broken out of Azkaban earlier in the year, managed to hit Black who fell through the black veil located in the DoM. Black was never seen again._

_Black was Harry Potter's Godfather, and it has become known to this correspondent that Black had risked his life numerous times for his best friend's son. _

_Remus Lupin, one of Black's closest friends, expressed his deep regret that Sirius will be unable to enjoy his new found freedom "he'd want us to look on the bright side though. He's probably laughing his head off up there, I mean he was like that when he was at Hogwarts. You can just imagine the carnage he's causing now."_

_When asked to explain, Lupin replied that he along with Black, Potter and Pettigrew were pranksters known as the Marauders during their time at Hogwarts._

_For further details of Sirius Orion Black, turn to the Obituary section on page 24._

Harry looked up from the newspaper with tears streaming down his face. He saw the same look of shock, grief and pain on Remus' face before he was able to speak. "I...I can't believe it" he croaked.

"I know. Amazing isn't it!" said Remus. "At least everyone now knows the truth, even if it is a little late." He wiped tears of his own from his face with a ragged handkerchief.

Harry just nodded. He left the kitchen without eating and sat down in a squashy lounge chair in the living room, his mind a whirl of emotion. The rest of the morning went by in a blur. He couldn't remember much else apart from slaps on the back and people saying much the same thing Remus had said. It was late evening before Harry was actually pulled out from his stupor when Trent reminded him that he'd have to go back to the Dursleys, until the owl arrived.

Ron looked at Harry quizzically. Harry explained how that now Sirius' name is cleared, Gringotts would be sending his will to Harry. Because Grimmauld Place is unplottable, no owls can get to it, hence the need for Harry to go back to Privet Drive, at least until the will arrives. This satisfied Ron, who shrugged before helping himself to more sausages.

* * *

Harry was about to pack, but Trent stopped him telling him that he'd only be gone for a few hours at the most. Harry just waited for Trent to finish his breakfast, as he would accompany Harry, just in case Peter was able to tell anyone else where Harry normally spent his summers, before heading back to the Dursleys.

Harry got back via floo, and had managed to surprise Aunt Petunia in the process. They had no sooner arrived when the tapping of the kitchen window alerted Harry that a post owl arrived. Harry took the letter, which had the official Gringotts seal on it. Harry was about to open it, but Trent suggested going back, they'd got what they came for and there was no need to stay any longer than necessary.

Harry got the distinct feeling that something was bothering Trent, so he asked him. Trent shrugged and replied that he was merely tired, and didn't really like places that were too clean.

Harry grinned but agreed nevertheless. As Harry came tumbling out of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place he found Remus waiting for him. Harry immediately opened the letter from Gringotts. It was short and businesslike.

_Mr. Harry J. Potter  
__4 Privet Drive  
__Little Whinging  
__Surrey_

_The Estate of Sirius Orion Black:_

_As executor of the Black estate it is my duty to inform you as to the disposition of the last will and testament of the late Sirius Black. Enclosed you will find two keys and one enchantment-sealed letter from Mr. Black. _

_The smaller of the two keys is to the Black family vault which has been willed to you, Harry James Potter. The contents, as of this date, will be transferred to your Gringotts vault with receipt of the key either via return owl or in person. The second key is to a, as yet to be disclosed residence, also know only as the Black Family Estate. _

_All deeds of ownership have been transferred to your name and the applicable paperwork will also be stored in your Gringotts vault. We regret that we are unable to give you the address to the aforementioned house as it appears to be unplottable. I hope you are aware of this residence and its current location._

_If you have any questions please refer them to me personally via return owl._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Gnog Snrub  
__Elder Executor  
__Gringotts Wizarding Bank_

A slight smile spread slowly on Harry's face as he folded up the Senior Executor's letter and stashed it in his pocket. He stared at the letter from Sirius once again. On the front of the parchment envelope were instructions:

_To be opened in the event of my death by Harry James Potter at no other place but my bedroom of the Black Family Estate._

Harry looked at Remus, who had been reading over his shoulder, and asked where Sirius' room was. Remus led Harry to it upstairs and opened the door. Neither went right inside the dark room.

"It just doesn't feel right Remus," said Harry. "I mean, this place will never feel like mine…too many bad memories." He thought for a moment. "By the way, what happened to Kreacher?"

"Moody made sure that Kreacher fulfilled his dream of having his head next to the portrait of Sirius' mother," said Remus. "But let's not wait any more…just go in and open the letter."

He moved past Harry into the room.

"Sirius never informed me that he had written something like this."

Harry nodded and walked into the room. The moment he crossed the threshold, the letter popped open. Harry pulled the parchment out of the envelope and began to read the last letter he was to ever get from his Godfather.

_Dearest Harry,_

_First, I want to say I'm sorry. If you're reading this then I've gone and fulfilled the prediction that I'd do something stupid and wake up in my grave._

_There is a lot that I wanted to tell you, Harry. About your mother and father...a lot. But I've missed my chance. So I will leave you and Moony with all that was mine: this house and the Black family fortune, such as it is. You will never want for anything again and always have a place to call home. It's all that I can give to you. _

_When I became your Godfather I promised your parents that I would always look out for you and keep you from harm. Well that's been taken away now, so I've done that next best thing. Here you will be safe. Upon my death I have made arrangements to have even more stringent wards around the house._

_If both you and Moony request the Order to leave, only four people will be able to enter this house. Dumbledore knows this, since this means the role of secret keeper has been passed over to them. You and Remus, of course, and the two other people that would give their life for you, as you would for them. I'm speaking of Ron and Hermione. I know you trust them with everything you are and they in return. _

_Don't forget that friendship, Harry. Don't let it falter._

_If Moony is there reading this over your shoulder, tell him not to make fun of the Black family jewels (the ones in your vault, get your mind out of the gutter Moony!), and that I expect him to now look out for you, and you have my permission to call him Uncle Remy._

_Stay safe in the years to come and hopefully I will see you again, many, many years in the future. _

_My last bit of advice to you is to always listen to your heart. The brain doesn't know what the heck it's talking about half the time, but your heart always knows._

_Love, your Godfather,_

_Sirius_

"_Dearest_! I've never seen him write _that_ before, even in letters to the numerous girls he was chasing at Hogwarts," Remus spluttered. Then he snorted.

"And you'd better not call me that, or I'll hex you so bad you won't recognise yourself!"

Harry smiled and said "well, that was…unexpected."

"What does he mean that he's leaving _us_ everything, when he put it all in _my_ vault?" Harry sighed. "It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe not," Remus said, "but I think he means that you get the Black fortune, and I get Grimmauld Place. After all, if only four people can enter it, and you're at school, it doesn't really leave much of a choice."

His voice took on a slight sarcastic edge. "Of course you're more than welcome to come and visit your house."

"Gee thanks _Remy_, nice to know you care," Harry said with a grin.

"Shut it, Harry. I warned you not to call me that!"

"No, you only said I can't put _Uncle_ in front of it" Harry grinned again as Remus scowled. They let the matter drop.

Harry stared at the letter for a moment, his thoughts a whirl. "I don't mind if the Order uses this place for headquarters, so I guess we'd better go to Gringotts. I need to get Neville a present…his birthday's the day before mine. And since Sirius left everything to the two of us, you'd better take half the fortune as well."

"No Harry, I couldn't. You need it more than me," Remus objected.

Harry got a mischievous glint in his eye. He began to edge towards the door.

"If you're allowing me to use the house, you're getting half of the fortune," he said. "Trent was right, you ARE a stubborn old wolf boy."

"RIGHT, THAT'S IT HARRY! YOU'RE DEAD!" Remus yelled.

Harry stifled a laugh and ran from the room with a red faced former Professor hot on his heels.


	7. Chapter 7 – Surprises, Birthdays And Tra...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Surprises, Birthdays And Training Starts**

The days drifted by, with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all finishing their homework, and practising any non-destructive spells (including the Patronus charm). Harry was still trying to convince Remus to take half of the Black fortune, but Remus adamantly refused to take even one knut of it.

In the end it had been Bill who suggested to Harry to write a letter to Gringotts and explain in it that half the money Sirius left for him is to be transferred over to Remus' vault, and under no circumstance could it be returned. Harry didn't think this was a good idea, but Bill pleaded with him. Trent said that that probably would have been exactly what Sirius expected him to do, being the son and Godson of two Marauders after all. Finally Harry relented, and sent off the letter.

Needless to say, Remus was not impressed at first. But after Harry had told him that the spirits of Prongs and Padfoot had chained him up and forced him to do that (Trent's idea), Remus had burst out laughing and agreed that both James and Sirius would be proud of the lengths Harry took to achieve it.

Harry and Remus had discussed whether or not to have a proper funeral for Sirius. Harry was against it, saying it wouldn't be right when they didn't have his body. Remus argued that it was only right for them to properly remember Sirius, and by not having a funeral, they were disrespecting his memory.

In the end, Harry relented. Sirius' funeral was to be held on August 17 (a Saturday), and was to be held at Godric's Hollow. Harry inquired to why Remus chose that place, and Remus told him that it was where Harry's parents had been buried. He then told Harry how he felt that Sirius would have liked to be buried beside two of his closest friends. Harry was a little apprehensive at first, as he'd never even thought about where his parents had been laid to rest. But he did agree that Sirius would probably like the gesture.

* * *

Finally, the end of July approached, and with it, booklists, birthdays, and the long awaited training. July 30 had dawned, and Albus Dumbledore had stepped through the fireplace and given Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron their respective Hogwarts letters. He then informed them that he would be back tomorrow for Harry's birthday before leaving again.

Harry opened his letter to see what books and items he required for the following year. But before he could, he was interrupted by a shriek followed by a red blur that flew past them.

It was Ron who recovered first. "Er, Ginny, what happened?"

"Ron, I made prefect! _Me_ a prefect! How'd that happen!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Well done, Ginny. Maybe you can help Hermione drag Ron into line this year"

"Shut your trap, Harry! Just because I didn't actually do anything last year, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy being a prefect."

"Sorry Ron, it's just that every time Hermione wanted your help, you just looked the other way. You can't do that this year, not with Ginny's temper…"

"Hey, I do NOT have a temper. Oh…I see what you mean, sorry Harry."

"Don't worry Ginny, I was just teasing. Besides it's not like I have much else to do right now, do I?"

Hermione grumbled, but nonetheless agreed that Harry was right about Ron, much to Ron's displeasure.

"So Harry, which classes did you decide to take?" Ron asked

"Well, there wasn't really much choice. I got accepted into Potions, so I'm taking that, Advanced Defence, Advanced Transfiguration, and Advanced Charms. As for the other two, I chose Introduction to Wandless Magic, and Duelling."

"Ah, so you want to be an Auror, Mr. Potter" Trent interrupted,

"In that case, I now have some idea as to what to get you for tomorrow. You're real hard to shop for, you know that? Oh, and congratulations" Trent pointed towards Harry's feet before going through to the kitchen.

Harry shrugged and mumbled that he didn't think he was that hard to shop for, but bent down to pick up the badge that had fallen out of his letter. Once he turned it over and saw what it was, he almost fainted.

"Harry, what's wrong, it can't be that bad surely" Ginny started

"No, it's just…I'm…I'm captain this year!"

Ron jumped up. "Really, wicked! That means you're back on the team, finally. No offence Ginny, but you'd make a better chaser than seeker."

"None taken, Ron. I totally agree, I was going to try out for chaser anyway."

Harry finally recovered from his shock of being made Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain, and skimmed over his booklist. He had all but four of the books;

'Standard Book of Spells level 6 – by Miranda Goshawk'

'The Art of Going Wandless – by Trent Fuller'

'Duelling: Give as Good as You Get – by Alastor Moody'

'Advanced Defensive Magical Theory – by Trent Fuller'

"Er, Trent's not teaching Wandless Magic, is he?"

"Dumbledore didn't mention it, he just said Defence, Apparition and Duelling. Why?" Hermione asked.

"It's just he's written both the Defence and Wandless books, so I was just curious."

"It's nothing to worry about Harry. Trent just happens to be brilliant when it comes to doing wandless magic and defence. Albus convinced him to write a book on Wandless Magic. I never thought he'd actually write two, I mean, he hates writing, but anyway" Remus had walked by and explained.

"Did you help him prepare for Defence this year, Remus? After all, you are still the best Professor we've had"

Remus blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thank you, Harry, yes I did help him. I believe he's just going to do a similar thing to what I did. But of course, he won't have to skip lessons, and he'll probably want to have a bit of fun along the way."

"Fun, that doesn't sound good. Not after seeing what you two got up to a while ago."

"Ah yes, well I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure he won't abuse his privilege. My congratulations on your becoming captain. James would be proud, he was captain himself you know."

"Yeah I did, thanks Remus. Say, did Trent finish that room off for the training?"

Remus smiled. "You'll have to wait and see Harry. Now I need to catch up to Trent and make sure he hasn't stolen my idea of what to get you tomorrow. Excuse me" and Remus hurried into the kitchen.

After dinner, Harry had gone upstairs to finish off the book on meditation Trent had given him. Harry had found a few methods that seemed to work, and had just finished 'cleansing the mind' when Ron walked in looking quite smug

"Alright Ron, what've you done. You didn't prank Fred or George did you?"

"Are you nuts, Harry? I don't have a death wish you know. No I've just seen what Mum's going to be cooking for tomorrow, and I think she might even challenge Hogwarts meals with it" Ron said.

"Oh ok then, just as long as nothing gets pranked, I'm sure it'll be great. Anyway I might get some sleep. After all, it's been a rather busy day"

"Yup, night Harry."

"Night Ron."

Despite his practising, Harry found his scar to be prickling as he was pulled into another vision of Voldemort.

"What do you mean you can't find Pettigrew! I want answers Bella, not more questions!"

"Sorry master, but we can't find out were they've hidden him, or even if he's still ali..."

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH! FOOL, CRUCIO!" Bellatrix Lestrange writhed on the ground in agony until Voldemort released his curse.

"We need to get those out of Azkaban before we plan anything major. I need to know who the muggle-loving fool has picked to teach Defence this year."

"My lord, we do know who he's picked. Someone by the name of Trent Fuller. He hasn't been seen for 20 years, so not much is known about him"

"THEN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HIM! CRUCIO!"

Again Lestrange was on the ground in agony, and Harry was woken by the sound of Ron shaking him.

"Harry! Harry, are you all right? Was it another vision? What happened?"

"He's hacked off Ron. He wants to know about Trent, and where Wormtail is. I think it was real because he was so angry. He was torturing Lestrange, and that's all I saw."

Ron looked concerned before asking if he'd be alright to go back to sleep. Harry nodded and slowly drifted off himself. But Harry had to agree with his nemesis on one thing; who exactly was Trent Fuller?

* * *

Harry awoke once again, but this time due to the pleasant aroma of Molly Weasley cooking breakfast. Ron must have also smelt it as he was up and had bolted out the door in three seconds flat. Harry silently laughed to himself before he realised that today was his 16th birthday. 'What I wouldn't give to have Sirius back' he thought before he made his made downstairs and into the kitchen. Surprisingly, only Ron, Molly and Remus were up, so Harry decided to tell Remus his vision

"I wouldn't worry about it, Harry, only Dumbledore knows exactly where Peter is, so I don't see how he will get that information. As for Trent, again I wouldn't worry. Not much is known about him, and he likes it that way. Yes most people know he's good with wandless magic, but not to the extent that he actually is. In fact I personally think that his wand is merely for show, he doesn't need it at all. Besides, you need to enjoy today, after all it is your birthday. So try not to worry about it, ok?"

"Thanks Remus, it's just that this is the first time that it's happened this summer. I was almost getting used to it _not_ happening."

"Yes well, let's hope that after you've mastered Occlumency, you _can_ get used to it not happening" Harry just nodded as he washed down his breakfast with a glass of pumpkin juice.

Trent suggested that he and Harry go upstairs to practice Occlumency after breakfast, but Harry really knew this was a diversion so people could arrive for his birthday. He told Trent this, and he just laughed. Harry was somewhat surprised with the progress he had made, but it also might have had something to do with Trent gently probing his mind rather than Snape's all out attack earlier in the year.

Trent was impressed at the extent that Harry had picked up on the meditation techniques. He told him that if he kept it up, by the time school came around, his mind should be strong enough to block out any false visions Voldemort might have planned for him. As well as protecting himself from Voldemort trying to access his memories.

Trent then gave Harry his and Remus' presents; an Aurors wand holster (from Trent), and a dragon skin battle vest (from Remus) to be worn underneath his robes. Trent told him that as long as his wand was in the holster, it couldn't be summoned, nor could the actual holster for that matter (Trent informed Harry that several Aurors had been caught out in the last war, so the Aurors had improved the holsters). The vest had been charmed to be featherlight, and was from a Hungarian Horntail, the toughest dragon known to wizard folk.

Finally after two hours, during which time Trent told Harry things he might expect should he wish to become an Auror, Trent informed Harry that is was probably safe for him to go downstairs. Harry came down the stairs, with Trent behind him and looked absolutely shocked at the amount of people who had turned up.

All the Wealsey's (including Percy who was trying his best to hide from the glares Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Charlie and Bill were giving him), Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, Remus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Hermione, Luna Lovegood and her father, Neville Longbottom, and his Grandmother, several of the DA club (including Blaise Zabini, the only Slytherin present) Mundungus Fletcher, Arabella Figg, and Fleur Delacour.

"Wotcher Harry!" Tonks exclaimed, before everyone burst into a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for both Harry and Neville (who then looked as shocked as Harry did). After all the gifts were opened (mostly books, chocolate or pranking items for the both of them) and everyone was engaged in chatting to each other, Remus winked at Trent, who rolled his eyes but tapped his glass to get everyone's attention.

"Right, now I know they're not of age yet, but in the muggle world, when you turn sixteen, there's a very important tradition that needs to be respected. Or so Remus tells me anyway" Remus just glared at Trent, but said nothing.

"Ladies if you please," and to the surprise of just about everybody, Ginny and Hermione had kissed Harry on one cheek each at the same time that Luna and Blaise did the same to Neville. Needless to say, both boys were too stunned to do anything to hide their blushes (nor could the girls for that matter). Fred and George had started wolf whistling, while Tonks was busy cat calling.

After a brief speech by both Harry and Neville (which basically just thanked everyone for turning up) everyone started having an early dinner so they could catch up with people before those who weren't staying, left. As Harry made his way to his bed, he couldn't help but think that this had been his best birthday ever, despite Sirius not being there. He drifted off to sleep with nothing but happy thoughts that not even Voldemort would be able to break through tonight.

* * *

August dawned and Harry realised that today he'd be starting training with Trent and Remus. He walked into the kitchen where he found Trent, the twins, and Ginny. They greeted each other (both Harry and Ginny felt a blush rising to their cheeks but kept it in check) before starting to chat about Gryffindor's chances for retaining the Quidditch Cup now they needed new chasers. They also talked about hoe the new school year was rapidly approaching, and how the twins' shop preparations were going. Once breakfast was finished, Trent got up and clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder

"You ready, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess. Do I need to bring anything?"

"Yeah. You, your trunk and your wand. I'll meet you in the living room in two hours alright."

Harry nodded and Trent left.

"What do you reckon you'll be doing, Harry?" Fred asked

"I dunno, but I guess I'll find out soon enough, I should be back by the time school starts, so I'll tell you then if I don't get any chances beforehand."

"Don't worry, Harry. Besides as a tri-owner of our shop, you'll be welcome to discounts."

"What d'you mean tri-owner? You didn't!"

"We did, after all, you were our financial backer. We decided that it was the least we could do" George explained.

Harry sat there in silence before Ginny spoke. "Um Harry, you should probably go and pack. You don't want to be late."

"Oh! Thanks Ginny, you're right. See you later then."

With that Harry went up and packed his trunk, shrunk it, grabbed his Firebolt (which Professor McGonagall gave back as half of Harry's present, the other half being the captains badge he got with his letter) and went back downstairs to find everyone waiting for him.

"Right on time, Harry" Remus said.

"Alright then, let's go. We'll see you guys tomorrow" Trent finished, and before anyone could even ask "tomorrow?" they were gone.

The next moment, Harry found himself before pushed through an open door that lead into a totally white room that seemed to stretch endlessly.

"Where are we?"

"Welcome Harry," Trent started "to the Room of Spirit and Time. Your training starts now."


	8. Chapter 8 – Secrets Revealed

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Voldemort wants to know about Trent, because…well you'll find out quite soon. They've met before, I'll tell you that much.

Now it gets a little bit complicated. I basically have lifted this straight from Dragonball. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, or hate it with a passion, then I'm sorry. I'd like to think I've written and explained my story in a way that it won't matter. I hope you get what I'm trying to do...well you will probably once the story's finished, but anyway. Here's chapter 8.

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Secrets Revealed**

Harry was dumbfounded. There was nothing here, just white as far as the eye could see. His body felt heavier than normal, and despite it being summer, he felt quite chilled.

"Bit overwhelming at first I'll admit, but you'll get used to it" Remus said as he walked off in one direction, with Trent going in the other. Without warning, both turned around and shot hexes at Harry, who had barely had time to blink before diving out of the way.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

Trent smirked before answering,

"Good stuff Potter, nice reflexes. I wouldn't expect anything less from a seeker of your calibre. Follow me, I'll take you to your room."

At that, he and Remus walked off with Harry following. After a little while, they found themselves at the entrance of an open building, which housed three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a study room, and nothing else.

After Harry dropped his trunk and enlarged it to normal size in one of the bedrooms, he started inspecting the other rooms when he found a giant hourglass with sand falling slower than what he thought it normally should in the study. As Harry was inspecting it carefully, trying to figure out why the sand was falling so slowly, Remus came into the room and began to answer some of the questions Harry had.

"If you think the sand is falling slower than it should, you'd be both right and wrong, Harry. You see, this place is a somewhat more complex version of the Room of Requirement that you practiced in at Hogwarts. Books, weapons, potion ingredients, anything you need will be available to you. The reason for that hourglass there is to check how long we've been here for. Quite ingenious really, it's that size because once all the sand hits the bottom, one day in our world has passed, but here a whole year has passed."

Harry must have looked confused because Remus continued "basically, this place is another dimension, where time passes much more quickly than what it does back home. Also the gravity is a little heavier, but you'll get used to it after a while. When Trent said that you'd be back tomorrow, he was technically telling the truth, but for us, a year will have gone by. Understand so far?"

Harry nodded. "So this is where you spent your time as Trent's apprentice, then?"

"Yes it is. He took me here the night Peter turned up at your house. Because I was supposed to be resting, no one thought it strange when I didn't show up for a day, but in actual fact, I was here training with Trent. That's why you've never heard me mention him before, because while I knew a little about him from his time at Hogwarts, I didn't _really_ know him. This is probably a little too much to take in right now. You can go get some rest if you like. After all you will be here for quite some time."

Harry nodded and went back to his room and fell asleep quite quickly.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he had to remember exactly where he was. Here there was no sunrise or sunset, so Harry was a little miffed at how bright it was once he had woken up before he got his bearings. Harry got up had a quick bite to eat then walked outside to be greeted with the most incredible sight he'd ever seen. Trent and Remus were fighting each other with such ferocity, that Harry could barely make out their movements. Harry stood there watching in awe as Trent's punches and kicks were effortlessly blocked by Remus, who then went on the offence while Trent blocked his attacks.

After a little while, they both jumped back, and Remus whipped out his wand and started throwing hexes and curses towards Trent who just stood there before leaping into action, dodging and weaving his way around the spells, before launching his own attack while Remus threw up an advanced shield charm to block them.

Harry realised that Remus wasn't joking when he said that Trent didn't need to use his wand as he saw Trent produce a Patronus whose form was that of a kangaroo (Harry remembered seeing pictures of them from his primary school days) without the slightest bit of trouble. Remus was caught off guard and Trent used this to finish the duel as he shouted "Majoro Statisio" and a jet of light green hit Remus who just stopped, petrified.

Trent turned to where Harry was watching and announced "nice to see you're up, Harry. I trust you slept well. Don't worry about Remus, that'll wear off in about five minutes. It's somewhat a cross between being stunned and petrified. It's not taught anymore because it's one of those spells that can only be cast wandless. Ah look, sleeping beauty has awakened!"

A groan was heard as Remus shook off the last effects of the spell, "hello Harry, we were just sparring before your training starts."

"Sp…sparring! That looked a bit more than that!" Harry spluttered.

Trent just grinned "I see a demonstration is in order. Here, Harry, slip this on" and he handed Harry what looked like a watch, only it didn't have any numbers or dials. Harry did so before asking "what is it?"

"It's called a scouter, and it measures energy levels. The higher the number, the higher the person's power is, but it has a limited distance range. We'll teach you how to measure energy without one of those, and we'll also show you how to mask your own power. Just tap it with your wand and say the name of whose power you want to see."

Harry nodded, tapped the scouter and said "Trent Fuller."

The scouter glowed blue before flashing the number 290,000.

"It should be roughly three hundred thousand. That's my current level, now try yours."

Harry did as Trent said and was surprised to see it flash 1,400,000.

"It must be broken. It says one point four million, but that can't be right, can it?"

"It's working fine, Harry. Trent's just suppressed his power to appear weaker than he really is."

"Oh" was all Harry could say.

Trent turned to Remus and asked "do you want the honour, or shall I?"

"I think you should do it, after all, your transformation is somewhat more impressive"

Harry was now confused 'transformation?' he thought before he looked over towards Trent, who was a picture of concentration. His eyes were closed, his face was starting to scrunch up, before he let out a loud cry and a bright light exploded from him and Harry had to shield his eyes.

When he was able to focus again, his mouth hung open.

"Impressed Potter?" Trent asked casually.

"You…you're glowing! How'd you do that?"

"Questions later, what's the scouter reckon?"

Harry looked down and took Trent's reading.

"Er...well it says twenty-two million."

"Bugger, I've slipped a little. It used to be twenty-three, oh well. This is my ultimate form, Harry. As you can see, it's slightly different from your transformation earlier this summer, right?"

Harry nodded. For one thing, Trent's hair had become slightly longer, and was sticking up 'a bit like mine does' Harry thought. But the incredible thing was that Trent's glow was a deep gold colour, not white like Harry's had been.

"In time, you'll be able to do the same. You might not get to the same level of energy as me, but magically you are far stronger than everyone save Voldemort himself. And that's what we're here to rectify. You see, Voldemort's power level is roughly thirteen million, whereas yours is only one point four. So our job is to get your level up to around eleven million, if not higher, alright? Ok, you can ask your questions now."

So Harry launched right into his list of main questions. "Why did I start glowing when I did? How come your glow is gold? If you're more powerful than Voldemort why don't you beat him? If Voldemort is that much more powerful than me, how come I'm still alive? Why are you doing this to me? And where does Remus fit into all this?"

Trent blinked a few times before replying "ok, I wasn't expecting those type of questions, but I was expecting more. Hmm, you started glowing when you did because of your anger, I told you that you can use your anger to focus and in some ways control your power. That's what you did that time, and that's why you're here. You escaped Voldemort so many times, because he underestimates you. No idea why, he just does, plus you show flashes of a much higher power level.

"Remus fits into this because he knows you better than me and I promised him that I'd let him help train you. My glow is gold because I have reached a higher level of power than you, but in time you will be able to do the same. And I can't beat Voldemort because that's most likely your destiny, not mine."

"But you could like almost beat him, and then let me finish him off right?"

"No Harry, I'm afraid I can't. You must do this on your own, I can't face Voldemort."

"Why not?"

Trent sighed before answering. "I can't risk him finding out who I really am. Remus told me about your vision the other night, and what the Death Eater said is true. Nothing is known about me apart from my name and that I was an Auror at Hogwarts for a year. When Tom Riddle started his search for immortality, he became the monster that we know now as Voldemort. He cast away every remaining shred of goodness that he had inside him, which wasn't much but it was still there. The day he ceased being Tom, I was created.

"I'm what Tom Riddle could have been had he not fallen into the depths of darkness he chose. As he became more powerful and evil, I also became stronger, until finally I was able to become more than just a shadow. Think of me in the same way you would have the memory of Tom's diary in the Chamber of Secrets. He told you that the weaker Ginny became, the stronger he got. It was the same with me, only instead of draining life, I drained the goodness in him."

Harry was thoroughly confused now and it must have shown because Trent sighed again, and this time his face became much more haunted.

"Let me tell you a story that until now I've only ever told two people…my adopted parents. I know that Dumbledore doesn't like giving you the whole picture, but I feel you need to know this. When you beat Voldemort for good, I must die with him. We are linked together, he gave me life, and unfortunately he was able to feed off me the first time you defeated him. It was me who kept him alive, because you didn't beat him totally, you couldn't, he had almost achieved immortality after all. But while he was a spirit, he was able to feed on my life force. It gave him enough strength to survive until he was brought back to life in that graveyard. One could say that he's my brother."


	9. Chapter 9 – Opening Old Wounds And Havin...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I'll bet you didn't see THAT coming did you! What do you reckon Voldemort will do if he finds out that little piece of info!

Huzzah! It's finished! Done, ended! I've completed HP & The Dormant Power. 31 chapters worth. I've gone through the first twenty and touched them up a bit. I'll do the rest over the coming weekend. After that's done, I might be able to update two chapters a week (I want to give everyone time to digest it all, and whacking all of it on the net won't give you that chance).

I'm also starting to work on my sequel (yes I've decided to write one). I'll be using the same method I did for this, just writing down ideas as they come to me, then figure out later where they fit in.

Sorry also, but I think this is the longest chapter I've written. Hope it's interesting enough and makes sense.

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Opening Old Wounds And Having Fun**

Remus recovered first, or rather spluttered first. "Wha…What! Br…brother! You never told me _that_ before!"

"No I didn't, Remus. Mainly because you aren't the one that needs to know, Harry is. To truly defeat Voldemort, he must vanquish me as well."

Harry then spoke up, although his voice was little more than a whisper. "But how? You're twice as strong as he is. What chance do I have of beating you?"

Again Trent sighed before answering, "none at present, but unless you find a way, then I'm afraid you won't fulfil the prophecy"

"Wait, how do you know about the prophecy?" Harry asked

"Dumbledore told me the first bit, that's why I'm helping you with Occlumency. Besides, Voldemort already knows that part, so Dumbledore didn't think it to be that critical. I'm just here to train you up, and give you enough confidence in your own abilities, so that when the time does come, you are able to find a way to do this."

"If you don't know the prophecy, why are you so convinced that I'm the one to defeat Voldemort then?" Harry queried

"Quite simple really. He's gone after you now what, five times?"

Harry nodded and Trent continued "well obviously you're still here. So there has to be something about you, or why would he continually come after you for?"

Harry looked thoughtful and said "point taken, but I'm still having a hard time believing that you're his brother"

"Well, technically I'm not. It's just the easiest way to explain it."

"I think I understand it" both Trent and Remus looked at Harry

"I mean it makes sense doesn't it? Voldemort tries to become immortal and loses his body. Then in the next eleven years, he somehow managed to get enough power to be able to possess Professor Quirrell. No one knows where he got that power from, but the way you explained it makes sense."

"I think I need to lie down!" Remus exclaimed

"In that case, you up for learning some basic martial arts Harry, or are you going to wuss out like wolfie over there!" Trent smirked

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Blaze" Remus growled as he walked towards his room.

Harry had to suppress a laugh before answering "I think I'll be alright for a while, I just had a sleep before watching you two spar. If what you say is true, I'll be needing all the help I can get."

"Righto then, we'll start with the basics. What would you prefer to learn first; Karate, Judo or Ninjitsu?"

Harry grinned. "How about…all three?"

Trent just raised one of his eyebrows in reply.

* * *

Five months had passed, and Harry was coming towards the end of his exhaustive Judo training.

"C'mon Potter, you can do better than that" Trent taunted after Harry had fallen flat on his back for what felt like the hundredth time that hour, although he may have been only fighting for five minutes for all he knew. It was taking some time for him to get used to hand to hand combat.

Through gritted teeth he replied "for Merlin's sake Trent, I'm no good at this all right! I told you that, ages ago!"

"That's no way to treat your teacher, Harry. You sound like Sirius did when he was learning how to ride that blasted motorbike of his. I remember him screaming like a little girl at James as he went clean over the handlebars after James had conjured a log to appear in front of the wheels!" Remus said, amusement showing on his face.

"_Don't_ talk about Sirius like that. DON'T SAY THAT!" Harry screamed, and feeling his anger rising within gave him comfort. Harry jumped back onto his feet and took a defensive stance.

Trent smiled, "good, I know how hard it is to learn this, Harry. You're gentle, you don't like to hurt. It's because your cherish life, that you must work to protect it. That will be all. We'll start your Karate training in ten hours alright. But first we'll get some of those injuries fixed up."

At that, Trent muttered a few words and a soft pink glow shot from his wand and encompassed Harry, who could feel his strength slowly returning. After a couple of minutes had passed, Trent stopped and deemed Harry fit enough, so Harry slowly trudged his way back to his room, anxious to soothe his aching muscles.

As Harry made his way towards his room, Trent turned to Remus and smiled.

"Did you feel that? Just a flash, but it was there."

Remus nodded. "Yes, I picked up eleven point eight, and only after five months. He's amazing!"

"I did tell you that. I reckon in another five months, he'll be at your present level."

"And the final two months?"

"We have some fun. Merlin knows he deserves it."

Remus nodded and looked Trent in the eye. "I hope you know what you're doing. If he turns dark, we're all screwed."

"He won't turn dark, Remus. As long as everyone stands by him, he'll be fine. Riddle's problem was that everyone abandoned him, Albus won't make that mistake again."

They both got and headed towards their respective rooms when Trent asked "by the way, exactly where did Albus put Peter anyway?"

Remus grinned "I think Severus will be having some fun with him for a while"

Trent chuckled "I see, well, I'm sure he'll be quite grateful for a new _pet_ subject" and both Remus and Trent burst out laughing, oblivious to the fact that Harry had not yet shut his door.

* * *

As time passed and Harry had grown to become quite good friends with both Remus and Trent, but still only felt comfortable talking about his parents and Sirius to Remus. Harry had found out that he'd been quite wrong to think his father was a prat based on what he'd seen from Snape's pensieve.

Harry found himself being able to cope much more easily over Sirius' death, by talking to Remus, who knew him far better than he did. Harry had never talked that much to Remus, but he quickly understood why his father had become such good friends with him.

Remus told him about the adventures the Marauder's had during their last two years at Hogwarts, after James, Sirius and Peter had learnt to become animagi. He recounted how elated James had reacted when Lily said she'd go on a date with him at the end of their sixth year. And how Sirius had spent the next two days in the hospital wing, courtesy of James, after constantly teasing him about being in love.

If Remus was becoming more like Harry's surrogate Godfather, then Trent was more like an acquaintance. A stranger, who only appears when something important crops up. Harry often saw Trent laughing with Remus, sharing pranking stories, and basically acting like a big kid. But when it came time to train, Harry soon found out that Trent was a hard taskmaster. Despite this, he always offered helpful tips to Harry to improve his abilities.

Trent was the reason that only after another four months had passed, Harry had become efficient in all three arts of Karate, Judo and Ninjitsu, and it was just the reason to celebrate.

"I think you've earned a break for a while, Harry. After nine months you've learnt more than enough martial arts, time for some fun I reckon" Trent announced, while Harry looked more than pleased.

"It'll be good to muck around a bit. But one thing I don't get is that you said you were from an ancient martial arts family, Trent. Why'd you lie about that, I mean Voldemort doesn't know any martial arts…"

"I didn't lie, Harry, it's on his muggle father's side, but like four generations back. The reason I was in my meditative state for so long was that my ancestors came to me and were teaching me their ways, both muggle and magical. It took ages to absorb all that knowledge then figure out how to use it. As for Tom not knowing, I think he does, but most wizards and witches don't bother with fighting like muggles. That's definitely one edge you'll have over him. I think the only things I have left to teach you before we go back, is the basics of wandless magic, and weapons duelling. But that'll only take a month…"

"One month to do all that? Are you insane Trent! There's no way he could do that in SIX months!" Remus exclaimed

"You're forgetting, the first thing I'm going to teach him is the duplication spell, then we can do all three at once."

"Oh, of course. But why didn't you do that at the start? It would've been far easier."

Trent got a dangerous gleam in his eye "I wanted to make him sweat a bit first!"

Harry groaned "thanks Trent. Remind me, that once I find a way, to kill you first please."

"My pleasure, Harry. Oh, and about those nine months of training we gave you? You're welcome" Trent replied while Remus was on the ground howling in laughter.

* * *

The duel had been going on for some time now. Remus and Harry were using long swords and magic.

Trent was watching with a look of satisfaction evident on his face. "Good, that's good Harry, now try that sweeping move you learnt earlier. Nice work Remus, remember to keep your movements fluent, any stalling and your opponent gets their chance."

Harry and Remus were now circling each other intent on out-glaring the other until Trent said "right, kick it up a notch now you two."

Harry and Remus let out a cry and both were instantly surrounded by a soft yellow glow. The movements became much faster until they were blurs, curses and hexes were rapidly being traded. All in all, the sight before Trent could be compared to a muggle laser display.

This went on for another ten minutes before Trent decided to call it quits. "Ok guys, that'll do for now."

Instantly, the two blurs stopped and bowed to each other, both showing signs of being rather tired.

"Right, I reckon that might do us here gents. Unless anyone has any objections, I think it's time to let our hair down."

"Not until…I get my…breath back. Darn Harry, how'd you get so strong?" Remus panted.

"You weren't bad yourself, although some of those hexes weren't fair seeing as though I haven't been taught them yet" Harry replied

"Don't worry, Harry. You'll be learning a few of those this year in my class, although I hope you'll be taking Apparition…"

"I already can apparate, Snape taught me!" Harry cut Trent off.

"Fine, but there are many ways one can apparate. There's the one that Severus taught which is based on location. There's one that pulls you towards blood relatives, another that takes you to a place you feel safe at, and yet another way is by sensing those people's energy that you want to go to" Trent countered.

"Oh, well I might think about it, but I've already got my quota of subjects for the year…"

"I wouldn't worry about it. It's only a two month course and only available for sixth years. It doesn't have an exam, because most of you will take the apparition exam after you turn seventeen anyway."

"I see, in that case, you might as well sign me up. But I don't see how you can do anything practical. I mean Hermione keeps telling us that you can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds."

"That's true, but you can at Hogsmeade" Remus said.

"You're both wrong actually" Remus and Harry looked at Trent somewhat confused.

"Well, not the part about apparating at Hogsmeade, that's right. But if I know my magic, and trust me I do, house elves apparate around Hogwarts all the time."

"Hey, you're right. I remember Dobby doing that in second year when I was in the Hospital wing. I totally forgot about it until now."

"Good thing too. I won't be teaching the class how they do it, but I will teach you if you want. After all, think of all the pranks you could pull in the Slytherin common room!" Trent replied, somewhat dreamily, before all three of them cracked up laughing.

* * *

As the last month started in the Spirit and Time Room, Harry had completed his apprenticeship. Both Remus and he had boosted their power levels to fifteen point six million and thirteen point eight million respectively.

Remus had just finished telling Harry and Trent about a prank he'd played on the other members of the Marauders. It had included the others not being able to copy down any of Remus' notes for a full day. If they tried, all they could read was a bunch of gibberish. Remus had merely stated that it was payback for all the teasing they gave him for studying.

Harry had recovered from laughing, and voiced a comment that he had. "I wish I was telepathic like you two."

"Yeah well, we tried to teach you, but some people have it and some people don't. It doesn't really matter. Occlumency protects against mind reading anyway, and since you've nearly mastered it…you don't have to worry. As long as you raise your mental shields, you'll be fine."

Harry nodded his head before Remus voiced some other questions that had been on Harry's mind for a little while, but had been too busy training to ask.

"Trent, exactly how old are you? You said you were…well spawned when Voldemort ceased being Tom Riddle. That happened in the forties didn't it? So when did you go to Hogwarts?"

Trent sighed, and Harry thought he'd been doing a lot of that lately.

"Well Remus, Tom finished Hogwarts in the summer of 1945. I was _spawned_, as you kindly point out, a few months after this. But it wasn't until 1950 that I effectively came into existence as an actual physical being rather than living like a shadow. So, that's makes me what, it's 1996 now, so I'll be effectively 46 in late August."

He continued "as for my education, I had all the knowledge that Tom had learnt when he attended Hogwarts stored in my memory, but no idea of what to make of it all. I spent the first four years of my life in the same orphanage that Tom himself was in, before I was adopted by a couple who were unable to produce children. Unlike Tom, and yourself to some extent Harry, I was appreciated and loved. When I was nine, my family moved to Australia, and I received my magical education there.

"My family were very understanding of my being magical, much like your friend Hermione's parents are. That's why my Patronus is in the form of a kangaroo, it's a part of my life, but I digress. After I had finished my education at Wattles School for the Magical, I stayed in Australia, and travelled around a bit, before applying to be an Auror. The training took four years, and I qualified to be an Auror in the autumn of 1973.

"I spent a further three years there before moving back to England. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Auror ranks for the Ministry of Magic, helped of course by the fact that the Ministry needed all the forces they could get with Voldemort going about his business like he was at the time. I spent the school year 1976 to 1977 at Hogwarts aiding in the protection of the school, where I met the very overrated Marauders. You see, me and few mates back at Wattles were the Aussie version of the Marauders, so none of their pranks were that surprising for me, funny yes, but not unexpected."

Remus grumbled something like "you looked pretty shocked when James made trees grow out of your head for a day."

But Trent either wasn't listening, or didn't care, as he continued "towards the end of the school year, you may remember Remus, I vanished."

"No you didn't, you stayed behind at Hogsmeade. Everyone thought you'd been killed."

"Not quite, I was captured by the Death Eaters. My wand was snapped in front of me, and I transformed for the first time. I performed some accidental magic on my guards before escaping. I fled back home, to Australia, where I laid low for a while. I had decided to give up being a wizard, and try to live a somewhat normal life. But this was cut short on the Halloween of 1981. I'm sorry if I'm opening up old wounds, but someone needs to know this and who better than you two. One the best friend, the other the son?"

Harry and Remus both looked at each other and shrugged, so Trent carried on. "I apparated as soon as I felt Voldemort's energy being destroyed, and was able to keep your house from collapsing while I searched for survivors. I had just managed to drag you out of the smouldering building, when it collapsed. I didn't know what had happened. You were crying, wailing actually, and I picked my way through the destruction and found your parents. I had thought that one of them had managed to beat Voldemort by sacrificing themselves, which wasn't too far from the truth since you told us what Dumbledore said about the blood sacrifice.

"I snatched up your parents wands. Afterwards, everyone believed them to have been destroyed, and the moment the two wands touched each other, they started glowing. I had to shield my eyes for a bit, and when I could refocus, I'd found that the wands had merged. As you both know, the wand chooses the wizard, and for some unexplainable reason, your parents wands decided to fuse together and choose their new owner."

At this, Trent withdrew his wand and showed it to Harry and Remus. Harry thought it looked quite similar to his own wand, but a little thicker and slightly lighter in colour.

"I used the new wand to heal your injuries to the best of my ability, mainly your cuts and whatnot, with 'Epidermisa Reparo' working just fine on you. As soon as I had finished, I thought you'd performed a piece of accidental magic. The wand was summoned into your hands, where a shower of sparks was produced. Normally when this happens, it's generally only in one or two colours, but in this case, a magnificent rainbow of colours was created. Before I could even think to figure out what was going on, I could feel two presences approaching…"

"Hagrid and Sirius" Remus interrupted.

Trent shrugged "well, I wasn't going to find out, so I snatched the wand from you, and hightailed it out of there."

"I always wondered how you survived, Harry. Sirius told me you didn't have a scratch on you, and were just sitting there on top of the rubble. I guess this explains why" Remus mused.

"So where did you end up going, Trent, after you left me?" Harry asked.

"I went back home to Australia. I wasn't feeling too flash, I mean, using wandless magic to douse the flames and keep the house from collapsing for as long as I did took a lot out of me. I collapsed once I got back. My adopted parents were so worried, you see Australia didn't have a hospital like St Mungo's back then, and they didn't want to take me to a muggle one, so they just left me be. I was in a coma, and that's when I started learning all my martial arts, and how to harness my power.

"I woke up in my bedroom some ten years later, much to the relief of my parents, who were beside me, and just a tad worried, I stayed with them, getting my strength back and training here in this room, and also spending my parents dieing days with them. Since they were muggles, they don't live as long as we do, and they both died in their eighties. I mourned for a while before heading back here once again for more training, then later to England. I had read about how Sirius Black was put into Azkaban for the deaths of the Potter's and Pettigrew. I managed to scope out exactly where Sirius was being held in Azkaban. And after being able to telepathically contact Sirius, was able to get enough out of him to realise he was innocent."

"Sirius never mentioned you though."

"No I don't suppose he did. I mean, who in their right mind would admit to hearing voices in their head, Remus? Anyway, I was able to aid in his escape, by keeping the Dementors away long enough for them not to be able to feel him anymore. Since then, I've been mainly training in this fine room that you're currently in. I've spent numerous years in here, time passes so differently, that you hardly age. That's why I still look like I'm only 30. In fact I'm much older than that, I'm closer to 65 actually, but I'm stuck in the body of a 33 year old."

Trent held his wand out for Harry. "I believe this is yours. Forgive me for taking it all those years ago."

Harry looked dumbfounded but managed to stutter out "bu…but I've already got a wand! Now that I think about it though, this one should be yours" and Harry withdrew his own wand and handed it to Trent who looked somewhat confused, so Harry explained.

"This wand has a phoenix feather for its core. The feather is from the same phoenix that Voldemort's feather core is also from. They're brother wands. It's only fair that you take this if you're giving me my parent's fused wand."

Trent looked amazed. "Brother wand? That hasn't happened since before the turn of the century. Thank you Harry, I don't know what to say. I mean, you've achieved so much with this wand. Not many people would be prepared to swap…"

"I'm not like most people though, Trent. Take it, may our new wands serve us like they did the other"

As Harry and Trent swapped wands, both felt a tremendous warmth flow through their bodies before both wands produced a dazzling rainbow shower of sparks.

Remus looked astounded "well, that was certainly enlightening. I believe the wands have adjusted to their new owners rather well."

Trent and Harry were too speechless to do anything but nod.

* * *

The final days slowly trickled by while Trent and Remus taught Harry some of the easier pranks to use in his final two years at Hogwarts.

"Remember the one I pulled at the Halloween feast? Silencing everyone but you four, thus guaranteeing a weeks worth of detentions."

Remus grimaced "don't remind me, I was so angry you did that. We had NEWT's that year and I could've used the study. Besides, you just wanted to pay us back for the starting feast when we made it look like Dumbledore had flung mashed potato in your face!"

"I don't deny it! I'll give you credit for that one wolf boy, although I was disappointed that hardly anyone knew what a food fight was"

Remus sighed "I wish you wouldn't call me that. After all, you made sure that I'd never have to go through that again."

"What are you talking about, Remus? There's no cure for lycanthropy, the closest thing is Wolfsbane…"

Trent smirked. "Sounds like someone's been reading up on potions. Ordinarily, I'd agree with you Harry, but during my meditation, some of my ancestors were quite brilliant when it came to the fine art of potion making. I was able to come up with the closest thing to a cure you could find. Unlike the Wolfsbane, which allows the person to keep their human mind despite the transformation, my solution allows them to not transform at all, but like most things, there are a few conditions…"

"Like me keeping my heightened senses and strength" Remus interrupted.

"But the biggest problem is that for my cure to work, one needs to be pure hearted. Pure goodness. It works for Remus because he's at peace with himself. He accepted what he was, and just got on with it, but at the same time he wouldn't hurt a fly…"

"Unless it had greasy hair and was wearing green and silver" Harry countered

"True, but given the choice, Remus would prefer to avoid confrontation and look for a more peaceful solution" Trent finished.

Harry looked stunned. "So, it's a potion. But does he need to continually take it, or is it a one-off thing?"

"It's a one-off, but I think Remus would agree that it was worth it, despite it tasting loads worse than Wolfsbane does."

"Yuck, I don't think I'll ever get that horrid taste out of my mouth, but it was most definitely worth it."

"Basically, the potion forms a sort of parasite, but a good one. It sorts out which…um, parts belong to Remus, and which belong to the wolf. It separates those and obviously works hardest during the days around full moon, but all in all, rather successful wasn't it wolfie!"

"Shut it, Blaze! But you're right, the ends more than justified the means…and taste. Besides, you should've seen the look on Peter's face when I told him!"

"Worthy of a prank I'll bet" Trent grinned.

"When did you train here, Remus? You just said you weren't troubled by Peter's silver hand. Yet you were when you tried to take him to Grimmauld Place" Harry asked.

"I thought I already told you, Harry. Trent took me that night. He knew that I'd be laid up for a couple days recovering, so he took me then. He conjured an illusion of me sleeping, so no one would know I was gone. It all worked out in the end."

They all became lost in their thoughts before Remus announced "well, I think our time's up. The door's there so we may as well head home."

Harry sighed "it's a shame to be leaving really. I've learnt so much, yet there's so much more I need to learn"

"You got that right Harry, you never stop learning. Heck, you've even taught me a few things! I never was up to snuff on a broom before, much prefer terra firma myself. Remus is right though, we really should go home."

With that, he got up and headed towards a door that Harry had never noticed before. "So, that's the exit huh?" he asked.

"Yep. We'd best head back before it vanishes, it only stays visible for an hour, so good thing we all packed up a little while ago, isn't it!"

With that, the three of them grabbed their gear, and headed off through the door. Another flash of light, and the trio were back in the living room of Grimmauld Place.

Remus sniffed. "Excellent, just in time for lunch."

As they walked into the kitchen, three screams were heard from Molly, Hermione and Ginny.

"Harry! You're back!"

"Nice to see you too, Hermione" Remus replied, sounding slightly hurt, but could hardly hide his grin.

"How was the training?"

Harry smiled at Remus before answering "Hermione. _That_ was the longest day of my life!"


	10. Chapter 10 – Back To Reality

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Well, I am an Aussie, so I had to put something about it in there! Besides, it is my story after all. Not sure if Trent being an Aussie will actually mean anything. I just felt that I needed to explain why his Patronus was a 'roo.

And before anyone asks, I'll answer a question you may have after reading this chapter. Yes, I did have some…discomfort writing parts of this (despite me taking the inspiration for it from a story I've read but can't remember. If you're reading this, my apologies. I only hope you aren't too mad!).

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Back To Reality**

"Well, c'mon Harry, don't hold out on us! Where'd you go? What'd you do?" Ginny pleaded.

"I went to a place a bit like the Room of Requirement, where time passes much quicker. In fact, I've spent a year training, despite only being gone for a day."

Hermione grumbled "I've never read anything about that kind of thing."

"As for what I did, I just got some training in muggle martial arts."

"That doesn't sound like much, Harry. Why'd you even bother, I mean magic will do more damage" Ron said as he walked into the kitchen.

Remus just looked at Harry before replying "yes Ron, magic would do more damage. But Harry's now much fitter than he was, which means he has more stamina. More stamina means he can last longer in duels. The longer you can last in a duel, eventually your opponent will tire…"

"And then you'll have the upper hand, because you'll still feel fresh, while your opponent gets sloppy" Trent cut in.

Ron looked like he was going to argue, but a look from Ginny quickly told him that he was wrong and should keep quiet. Hermione then spoke up "er, Professor Fuller?"

Trent smiled "I'm not your Professor for another month yet Hermione. Please, call me Trent."

Hermione blushed slightly before asking "what kind of things will we be covering in Advanced Defence this year?"

"Well, the main thing I'll be focusing on for this year will be minor Dark Arts spells and how to defend against them. Remus tells me that you've covered dark creatures, curses, hexes and jinxes, but not much on the Dark Arts. Oh, and of course sixth year means you have to learn about the Unforgivables."

"We did that in fourth year though, Trent" Harry told him.

"No, you _covered_ them in fourth year. You got told what they are and what they did. I'll be going into much more depth. And you'll be the ones casting them, unlike that year."

"But they're called the Unforgivables for a reason. Wouldn't we get chucked in Azkaban for that?" Harry asked.

It was Molly that answered "Don't worry dears, it's not that big a deal. The only reason for the casting, is that it's very hard to explain what you need to feel to cast them"

"You'll probably only get to practice them once or twice anyway. I'm not allocating much time for it. Besides in a war, you must sometimes take drastic measures just to stay alive. I'm just doing what my job description says, and it states that sixth years need to learn the Unforgivables."

The students looked stunned, but didn't say anything. Lunch was a rowdy affair, with Fred and George constantly pestering Harry to further explain if he'd spent a year in this place, why hadn't he changed in noticeable way? Harry was trying to tell them that he had changed, and that'd he'd had his main growth spurt before he left, therefore there wasn't much different about him, but the more he explained it, the more the twins got confused. Trent excused himself, saying he had to get back to Hogwarts to finish off his lesson plans, plus to meet his fellow Professors. He said it wouldn't look very professional to not know who he was expected to be working with.

Harry went off to read some of more of the books he got for his birthday, with Hermione following him wanting to read some of his books as well, while Ron and Ginny decided to play wizards chess. The rest of the day went quickly by, with nothing of great importance occurring, Ron had beaten Ginny quite comfortably, while Hermione and Harry were quizzing each other on some of the information they had read.

Dinner was uneventful, and before long, Harry had decided to go to bed. He cleared his mind, finding this remarkably easy now that Trent had showed him how to do it properly, before finally falling asleep dreaming of what this school year would bring.

Harry awoke quite early and was the first one down into the kitchen. As he was preparing his breakfast, Remus came in and yawned a greeting.

"M…morning Harry."

"Morning Remus, what're you going to do today? When do you reckon we'll be getting our school supplies?"

Remus rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes before yawning again in reply "I haven't really thought about it Harry. I'm not sure when you'll be going to Diagon Alley for supplies, maybe we should ask Albus or something. It's quite busy around this time, might be a bit dangerous to be wandering around alone."

Harry shrugged "I guess. You know if anything's been done about Voldemort trying to break out the Death Eaters that we captured at the Ministry?"

"No I don't. But then again, I haven't been back here for a full day yet" Remus reminded him.

Harry mentally slapped himself, but said nothing more about the matter while the two of them were joined at the table by the Weasley's. Once again, the chatter centred around Harry's training, and when he'd be giving everyone a demonstration.

Harry was thinking he was watching a tennis match with the amount he had to keep turning his head to answer the next question as best he could when Arthur Weasley announced that they'd be going to Diagon Alley on the weekend to get their supplies. He explained that should provide enough time to appease Mad-Eye Moody's paranoia about having enough guards to be safe.

Fred and George then started teasing the others about them having to go back to school until Harry had threatened them with demonstrating some of the pranks he'd picked up from both Trent and Remus during his training. This quickly quietened the twins down, much to Remus' amusement.

* * *

The weekend finally came, and with it came the trip to Diagon Alley. Breakfast came and went, with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny looking forward to getting out of the house for a while. They, along with Molly, Remus and Bill, flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, where they were met up with Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks, who sported a more subdued long, light brown hair style.

"Wotcher guys! Ready to go shopping?"

Remus just rolled his eyes before turning to Bill and asking "what is it with witches and shopping?"

Molly glared at him and replied "the same could be asked about wizards and Quidditch."

Instantly, Harry, Ron and Bill got a dreamy look on their face while Hermione muttered "boys!" under her breath, but still loud enough for them to hear.

Moody was starting to get impatient and growled "as much as I'd love to stay and chat, we'd best get going."

He walked out of the pub towards the wall and proceeded to tap the bricks that was the entry of Diagon Alley. Harry could almost feel the magic coming from each shop as they walked passed. No matter how many times he visited, he never grew tired of it. The group made their way to where Gringotts was located and walked into the foyer.

They reached the teller, and got told to wait while enough carriages were prepared. Ron and Ginny were accompanied by Bill, Molly, Kingsley and Tonks, while Harry and Hermione had Remus and Moody as their escorts.

Once Harry had reached his vault, he gave Griphook the lamp and his key. The door clicked open and four jaws hit the floor. If Harry had been overwhelmed the first time he came here five years ago, it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. There were stacks upon stacks of gleaming golden galleons, much more than Harry had been familiar with.

Hermione looked at Harry and said "is…is this all yours?"

Harry nodded before finding his voice "Sirius mentioned the Black fortune, but…wow, and that's even with half of it gone!"

"I think wow sums it up nicely, Potter" Moody chuckled.

"What do you mean that half of its gone, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I gave Remus half the Black fortune. It was only fair we split it up seeing as though we were the only two mentioned in Sirius' will."

The quartet made their way into the vault and Harry looked around before he spotted a battered old trunk. He asked Moody if he thought the trunk was safe to open, and after getting his approval, whispered "Alohamora". The trunk snapped open to reveal several old books, most of which were about the Dark Arts.

Harry asked Griphook if he could take the trunk home with him, and shrunk it after Griphook said that it wouldn't be a problem. After getting some money, the four of them made their way back to meet the rest.

They got all of their supplies, including new robes, books and potion ingredients, without any incident, before making their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. They stopped by to see Fred and George, and were impressed with how well business was doing. They didn't stay too long, as the twins were running around attending to customers. They reached the Leaky Cauldron and flooed home to Grimmauld Place

Once back in the familiar surroundings of Grimmauld Place, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione dropped off their supplies before getting ready for dinner. After they had finished, Harry and Ron had a quick game of chess (with Ron winning again), before Harry decided to go to bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but think that Voldemort had been strangely quiet, and wondered what he had planned for Harry during the upcoming school year.

* * *

The morning of August 17 dawned, and with it came Sirius' funeral. Harry had been dreading this day ever since Remus reminded him about it whilst they were training in the Spirit Room. In the end, Harry had Remus agree that it was to be a small procession. Only the Order, and Harry's closest friends would be allowed to attend.

Breakfast was over and everyone was getting ready for the trip to Godric's Hollow. Harry had to admit that he was feeling a little nervous about seeing the place that Voldemort had killed his parents, but Remus assured him that he'd be fine. Harry grabbed the speech he'd prepared, and made his way to the living room and waited for everyone else to arrive.

The final list of people who would be attending were Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Professor's Dumbledore and McGonagall, Remus, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks and Kingsley. Mr. Weasley had been fortunate enough to get a couple of Ministry cars for the occasion and once everyone had piled in, they set off.

They arrived at Godric's Hollow a while later, and Harry wandered around a bit while everything was being organised. Remus pointed out where Harry's parents' house once stood, and Harry was a little grieved that someone else had built another house on top of it. But Harry quickly shook off those thoughts as he reminded himself that nearly fifteen years had passed since that unforgettable night. Harry and Remus were then called back to start the funeral.

Harry walked over to the casket. It felt strange to be burying something that was supposed to have his Godfather in, but instead was empty. He moved his gaze from the casket, and began to look at everyone. Dumbledore's eyes still held a slight twinkle, but most of the shine was gone. Remus looked almost as bad as he did after a full moon, and frankly, Harry didn't blame him. After all, he'd just lost another of his closest friends.

Harry felt another knot in his stomach as he looked back down at the empty casket. He looked up and stared off in to space. 'It's now or never,' he thought before addressing the crowd.

"I thought this day would be years in my future," he began his speech. Although he had brought his speech, he really didn't need it. He turned his gaze back to the people.

"Standing here giving this speech, standing here with all of you. There would be more of us because Sirius, undoubtedly, would've made friends with just about everyone he met. In fact, I didn't really see myself alone here either. I saw myself with my wife and children, and saw Sirius growing old with them.

"No one could replace my father, no one. I never knew him, but he hasn't left my side since the day he left this Earth. My mother hasn't left since the moment I was born. No one could replace them, despite me never knowing them. They were one-in-a-million.

"Sirius was the closest thing I'd ever had to a father. He died protecting me, something he promised he would do if he needed to. I wish he never had to, because he brought something into this world that we all could use right now; happiness.

"When I was with him, I never saw him happier. But that doesn't mean he wasn't. I may not like it, and many of you won't either, but right now he's the happiest he's been all his life. Life is but a journey, with death being one road we all must eventually take. Sirius is back with my parents."

Harry looked over to Remus. He had showed his speech to him earlier and was given a nod of approval

"And when the time comes, the Marauder's will be back together. The true Marauder's; James Potter, Lily Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. They were best friends, and often that's what keeps people going sometimes. The idea that friends are forever, is something I'm willing to stake my life on."

He looked over at Ron, Hermione and Ginny. He gave them all a smile, which they returned. But Harry could see tears falling down Hermione's and Ginny's faces. He quickly turned back to the casket.

"But the people we meet, the lives we touch, they never truly leave us. When they are gone, you are all that remains. If you remember them, talk about them, and love them, they will never die. History turns to legend. Legend turns to myth. And myths are forgotten.

"But friendship, true friendship, can never be forgotten or lost. It will never die. The truth is that none of us die so long as we are loved. Sirius was loved, by his friends, and by me. What he has done for my life, and the lives of so many others, I will never forget. I hope you won't either. Thank you for coming here, and thanks for listening."

Harry touched the empty casket one last time before making his way back to his seat.

Remus said a quick speech, but Harry wasn't really listening. He was too caught up in his own thoughts, and couldn't even remember the ride back to Grimmauld Place. He didn't remember having dinner or even going to bed.

Harry did remember thinking he had gotten over Sirius when he and Remus were talking about of the fun times they'd spent during Harry's training. How wrong he was. Harry realised that while he may forgive himself for sending Sirius to his death, he vowed to never forget it. Harry had told Hermione that his training had been the longest day of his life. Today had arguably been the hardest.

* * *

The next couple of weeks went by smoothly, with Harry deciding to continue with his martial arts training, but only with Remus teaching, as Trent was still settling himself in at Hogwarts. It was the last day of August and he and Remus were in the middle of a somewhat one sided duel, as Remus had decided that Harry needed to learn to fight against multiple opponents at once, with the Weasley's and Hermione for an audience, when Trent came in and interrupted them.

"Afternoon all, hope I'm not bothering you but I have a message for you, Remus."

Remus stopped and asked "could your timing have been any more pathetic, Trent? Well, what is it then that's so important to disrupt our little duel?"

Trent managed to look ashamed, despite the twinkle in his eyes, before answering.

"Albus has decided that you'll be helping me take the Duelling classes this year. I just thought you needed a couple days to get ready, that's all. Sorry to interrupt, but you guys weren't taking it very seriously anyway. How about we give a real show? You two verse me, anything goes, including duplication. But I'll make it fairer by saying that only you two can do that. Also, no really painful curses or Unforgivables please. What say you?"

Harry just turned to Remus before smiling broadly. "Sure Trent, why not. Although it'll hardly be fair."

"No it, won't, but don't get cocky, Potter. Besides, no one's seen me in action for twenty years."

"All right then Trent, I'm game, but on one other condition" Remus said.

"What's that wolf boy?"

"No wandless magic allowed."

"Yeah right, do I look stupid to you, Remus! That's the only advantage I have over you two" Trent stifled a laugh.

"He's got a point Remus, we accept your rules."

"Alright Harry. Fred, would you like to do the honours?"

"Certainly, you may begin on the count of five; one…two…bugger it, five!" Fred said

No sooner had Fred said 'five' the battle began. Harry and Remus both cast the duplication spell, and suddenly, instead of two on one, it became six on one. Trent took it in his stride and throwing spells left right and centre at such a pace, that those watching could barely make out what spells were being used. Harry and Remus were comfortably holding their own, while Trent looked a little worse for wear, until Trent cried out,

"Erasio persona!"

The two additional Harry's and Remus' disappeared in an instant, and once again there were just the three of them. Remus and Harry were eyeing Trent carefully, thinking what moves they could use, when Trent decided to turn up the heat and raised his hand.

"Cosmino Halo!"

A golden ring of light emerged at the tip of Trent's outstretched hand, which proceeded to grow in size until it took up the area of a dining table. Everyone else, including Harry and Remus, just stood there, trying to figure out what Trent was doing. All of a sudden the ring vanished, before reappearing, surrounding both Harry and Remus.

"I don't like this, Harry, what do you think it is?"

"How should I know? I was going to ask you the same question!"

"Don't worry boys, I'm just going to put the _squeeze_ on you a bit" Trent smirked.

With that, the ring constricted in size crushing the two of them together.

"Jeez Remus, you should lose some weight, it's getting a bit crowded."

"Oh shut up, Harry. What do you think? Time to raise the stakes a bit?"

Harry grinned "I reckon you're right. Let's kick it up a peg or three."

They both concentrated a bit and were rewarded with an explosion of light. When everyone could see again, the golden ring was no more. Both Harry and Remus were standing together, with a yellow glow enveloping them.

"Nice try guys. I see your level, and I'll raise you"

Trent then concentrated before he himself was glowing, this time a golden glow encompassing his body. Within ten seconds, both Harry and Remus were disarmed, and currently unable to move. Once the spell had worn off, Trent politely bowed to Remus and Harry, before turning to the gathered audience and saying

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we do that."

"Told you we should've banned wandless magic, Harry, but _no_, don't listen to me!"

Harry just rolled his eyes before turning to Trent. "Exactly what was halo thing you used, and don't say wandless magic, either!" Harry added just as Trent opened his mouth.

Trent laughed "you're quick, I'll give you that! It was my own personal variation of an imprisonment spell. Usually, once you get caught in it, there's no way out. But you two seemed to find a flaw in it."

"You left it there on purpose didn't you" Remus said accusingly, while Trent just smiled.

Hermione spoke up, "what do you mean, Professor?"

"He hasn't been your Professor for a while. But what he means, Hermione, is that I wanted them to raise their energy to such a level that they _could_ break the bind. I wanted to see them push themselves, and frankly, I was rather disappointed."

"We were doing fine until you decided to transform, I hardly call that fair!"

Ginny spoke up next "what do you mean, transform? Is that what that glowing was? We saw Harry do it before, but how come it was yellow, and yours golden?"

Trent replied. "Yes Ginny, that glow is the transformation. Harry's was yellow this time because he's reached a higher level of power than he had last time. My glow is gold because my power is even higher. In answer to your complaint Harry, it wasn't fair. I said that at the start. Or did you think I meant that by allowing you two to duplicate yourselves, that _you_ were holding the advantage? You must've misunderstood me!"

Harry just glared before Trent announced "well, that certainly gave me an appetite, how about the rest of you? Besides, some of us have to go to school tomorrow!"

Everyone agreed then went downstairs to have dinner, during which time, Harry, Remus and Trent were all bombarded with questions along the lines of how they were able to move that quickly, cast multiple spells at once, and battle for as long as they did without showing any signs of tiredness.

The three of them answered as truthfully as possible without giving too much away, which became a huge source of frustration for the others. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all but demanded Harry tell them exactly what went on with his training, but Harry just gave them a smile which clearly meant, 'now you know how I felt this time last year'. Ron tried to pry more out of Harry when they went to bed, but Harry was being just as stubborn as Ron could be. He flat out refused to tell Ron anything, saying the less people that knew the better.


	11. Chapter 11 – Something Old, Something Ne...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Something Old, Something New**

The first of September dawned, and Grimmauld place was abuzz with four teenagers and two soon-to-be (with one being 'again') Professors rushing around making sure they left nothing behind. Finally, after a somewhat rushed breakfast which included questions like "has anyone seen my Defence homework?" and "if anyone finds any lesson plans, please let me know!" everyone was ready to go to Kings Cross to board the Hogwarts Express. Again, the Ministry provided cars for the occasion, and in what must go down in 'Hogwarts: A History' itself, they arrived at the station with half an hour to spare.

After the normal goodbyes, they students and teachers boarded the train and headed off to find spare carriages. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny spotted Luna Lovegood, and decided to share a compartment, with Neville joining them not long after, while Trent and Remus sat in the one opposite. At precisely eleven o'clock, the train departed platform 9¾ bound for Hogwarts.

The six students were describing their respective summers (again, Harry had to dodge a multitude of difficult questions, but did so admirably), when they were interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open. 'Damn, that's every year so far! Why can't he just stay put for once?' Harry cursed as Draco Malfoy stood at the door smirking at them, with Crabbe and Goyle towering behind him.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Five disgusting Gryffindor's and one totally loco Ravenclaw."

"Malfoy, this is starting to get old, I'd recognise your foul stench anywhere. I'd say it's a pleasure to see you again, but we all know that I'd be lying. Did you visit your father this summer?" Harry asked a little too innocently.

Draco narrowed his eyes in reply "shut your mouth, Potty. At least I've got a father."

Ron was about to restrain Harry, but found he had no need. Harry was laughing instead.

"What's so funny, Potter? Have you finally lost it after all these years without having any parents" Draco sneered

"Maybe I have, Malfoy. It's just that you're all talk and no action. You like to hide behind people. Your father, those two goons with you. I'd go on, but I'd be wasting my time."

Draco's eyes narrowed even more until they were mere slits. "So, I'm no action hey Potter, well it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top in that duel that we never finished three years ago."

"I s'pose it will be, remind me to turn my back. You Slytherin's seem to be masters at stabbing people there."

"Ahem, I think that's quite enough gentlemen."

Draco whirled around "who're you, when my father hears about…"

"Last time I checked, your father ain't taking any visitors. My name is unimportant. I'm the new Defence Professor, so I'd suggest you be on your way before I start giving out detentions."

Draco looked like he might argue, but turned away and started back down the train, not before saying "see you in class, Potter, and may the best Slytherin win."

Harry watched as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle sauntered off back to their carriage before Trent turned to him.

"It's better to avoid a fight than get caught up in one Harry. He's not worth your time, just try to ignore him alright? And I have a few suggestions to what curses you should use against him."

Harry smiled and nodded before Trent went back to his carriage to resume his talk with Remus about what kind of things he should expect during his classes.

The rest of the trip went smoothly, with the six students only being interrupted once more, but this time by the lunch cart. After they'd finished, Neville showed them his new wand. "Twelve inches, dragon heartstring. It feels more right than my Dad's ever did!"

"That's because it's the wand that chooses the wizard, Neville. I'm sure Mr Ollivander told you that."

"Well yes he did, but I still have trouble believing it…"

"Then don't believe it, just accept it. I know my wand chose me, and I'm glad it did. I'm sure your new wand will work wonders" Harry replied and Neville nodded.

Then they took turns in getting into their robes for their arrival at Hogwarts. Once the train came to a stop and they departed their carriage, Harry heard an all too familiar voice

"Firs' years, firs' years. 'ver 'ere please. C'mon, this way. We gotta ge' you all ready for th' feast"

"Hi Hagrid, hope you had a good summer."

"Oh, 'ey 'arry. Yeah I did, thanks fer askin'."

"No problems, I'll let you get back to taking the first years up then."

"Yeah, see you later 'arry"

"Hopefully, but I expect I'll be rather busy this year"

Hagrid nodded in understanding, before lumbering off to where the first years were gathering. Harry and the others went off in search for an empty thestral powered boat. They settled in, and before long, the familiar sight of the magnificent castle that is Hogwarts came into view and Ron whispered "I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that sight" the others agreed before disembarking from their carriage and heading up towards the Great Hall, with Ron grumbling about how they should have the feast before the sorting. He was hushed by a slap from both Ginny and Hermione, much to Harry's and Neville's amusement.

Once everyone had settled down in the Great Hall, the doors opened to reveal Professor McGonagall and several frightened first year students. Just like every other year, the sorting hat was seated at the front of the teachers table, and had finished its song. Once again it reminded everyone of the need to unite under one banner and eliminate the house rivalries, the first years were then been sorted before Dumbledore stood up to address the school.

"Good evening all, I hope most if not all of you had a thoroughly enjoyable summer. There are a few announcements that need to be made before the feast starts. Firstly, I would like to tell the first years, and a few of the older ones" with that he glanced in the direction of the where Harry and his friends were sitting before continuing,

"That the Forbidden Forrest is called that for a reason. Do not venture in there at any time. Mr. Filch has increased his number of prohibited items to…ah I don't know how many it is now. A list of those items can be seen outside his door. The final thing is that I'd like to welcome, and in one case welcome back, two new Professors who have decided to join us this year; Trent Fuller and Remus Lupin."

After he said the last name, the entire Hall, the Gryffindor's especially, erupted into loud cheers, and boos in the case of most of the Slytherin table. It was quite some time before Dumbledore managed to calm everyone down.

"Yes I know many of you remember Professor Lupin, but unlike last time, he will not be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, that job has been given to Professor Fuller. Both of them have decided to co-teach the new subject; Duelling. I trust you treat them with respect, just like you do with the rest of your Professors. Right, I've rambled on for too long, let's eat!" with that he clapped his hands and all the tables were filled with all sorts of food.

Ron looked like all his Christmas' had come at once, and attacked the food with gusto, and to the surprise of others, so did Harry. Harry looked up at the staff table to see Remus and Trent chatting away 'probably swapping pranking stories' Harry thought, when Harry's Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, suddenly grabbed Trent's arm and started speaking. Harry couldn't make out what she said, but the looks on those Professor's nearby, including Dumbledore, told Harry that whatever it was, it was her third real prediction. The feast continued and the teachers acted like nothing happened, so Harry thought nothing of it until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Would you please accompany me to the Headmaster's office, Harry? I believe we have a certain club of yours to discuss" Trent told him.

Harry nodded, quickly finishing his desert, got the common room password from Hermione ('Snuffles') before following Trent towards Dumbledore's office. They walked in relative silence, with Trent merely saying which portraits were in different positions when he was here last, and before long, they arrived at the foot of the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. Trent spoke to password 'Portable Swamp'. Harry stifled a laugh and Trent just raised his eyebrows but said nothing as they took the revolving stairs into the inner sanction of the Headmaster's office. Once they walked in, Harry wasn't surprised to see Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, but he was surprised that Remus was already in there.

"Good evening Harry, and Professors Fuller and Lupin. I gather you enjoyed the feast?"

"Yes, Albus, we did. Just cut to the chase, some of us have lessons tomorrow."

"Of course, Trent. Harry, I gather that Trent here told you to be here for us to discuss that defence club you started last year."

"Yes sir, he did mention that."

"Well, we will do that now. I would like you to disband it for now. Despite you helping a lot of students last year, I think it best if you didn't do it this year. Professors Fuller and Lupin will be teaching a mandatory Duelling class, so I don't think it necessary for yours to continue. We also need to discuss what Professor Trelawney said at dinner."

Harry nodded before saying "I did notice that sir, but couldn't hear what she was saying."

"And that's what I'm going to tell you" Dumbledore informed him.

"But hang on a minute. Last year you didn't want to tell me anything, why such a drastic change?"

"Because I've learnt what happens when I do keep things from you. And I don't want you to suffer any more hurt than is necessary."

Harry just sat there staring. He could hardly believe that this was the same Albus Dumbledore whose office he basically destroyed some three months ago.

Albus just looked at Harry before saying "well, here's what she said; _two brothers, separated by fate, one devoted to the light, the other consumed by darkness, will meet again in a titanic struggle, from which only one shall emerge_.We have reason to believe that once again, she is prophesising your ultimate battle with Voldemort. You are Voldemort's brother as you share the same blood, and also have brother wands. The rest is just repeating what you know. You might have noticed that all those possessions that were inexplicably destroyed that night, have been replaced" Dumbledore smiled at Harry.

Harry again was speechless, did his Divination Professor once again predict his final battle with Voldemort. He looked towards Remus and Trent, both of them sending Harry telepathic messages not to mention anything about what they talked about in the Spirit Room before he said anything.

"I see. I'm sorry for not being very talkative, it's just a fair bit to take in."

"No apology required, Harry, just know that I've all but given up hiding things from you should you ask the questions. Welcome back, and goodnight night gentlemen" Dumbledore replied, before ushering the three of them down the stairs and into the hallway.

They made their way towards Gryffindor tower, before Harry spoke up "you haven't told him yet have you? I mean, I think that prediction is more for you than me, Trent."

"I reckon you're right on both counts, Harry. I haven't told Albus yet, but I will when I feel the time is right."

"Ah, so someone else who he has kept secrets from then, hmm" Remus nudged.

Trent just grinned. "But of course Remus, who hasn't he kept information from?"

"Point taken. We can discuss this after class tomorrow, Harry. If I'm not mistaken, Duelling is your last class of the day."

"After double Defence and Potions" Harry grinned. "You know, I think it's the first time we've started off with my favourite subject"

"Well then, I'll try not to disappoint you, Harry. You'd better get some rest."

"Thanks. Goodnight Professors" Harry yawned as he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady before saying the password, and heading off to bed.


	12. Chapter 12 – A Lesson In Humility

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

* * *

**Chapter 12 – A Lesson In Humility**

Harry, Ron and Hermione were the first to arrive the next morning for Defence, and were somewhat surprised when only twelve more people filed in. Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, and Neville from Gryffindor, Padma Patil, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw, Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff, and two Slytherins; Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott.

"G'day all. Welcome to your first lesson in Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"You mean that this is it? No one else is coming?" Dean exclaimed.

"No Mr…Thomas?" Trent asked and Dean nodded.

"No one else is coming. Many people would possibly like to be doing this subject. But the Headmaster had decided that only those who have shown significant potential previously in Defence will be able to handle its Advanced counterpart. I can assure you all, the next two years will be hell. And that's only during school, lest us forget about the impending war that is approaching" many people gulped at this.

"Right, who'd like to go first? Mr Potter, perhaps?" Trent asked politely.

"Er, I don't know what you want me to do, Professor" Harry answered.

"Perhaps I shall explain it better then. This year in this class, the only definites we need to cover, are how to defend yourselves against minor Dark Arts spells, and covering the Unforgivables in more detail. The rest of the time is up to you."

"You mean we get to choose what you teach us?" Hermione almost squealed in delight.

"That's correct, Miss Granger. Whatever you'd like to discuss, as long as it's within the boundaries of being Defence, then we can talk about it" Trent answered.

"Back to Harry's question though. I'd like you to tell me the most powerful spell you know you can perform, and its incantation."

"Oh, right that'd be…er…"

"Don't stall, Harry. It's his Patronus, Professor. With 'Expecto Patronum' being the incantation" Hermione interrupted.

"Actually Hermione, I was going to say that. But is the Patronus charm more powerful than the Cruciatus curse?"

Most of the class gasped as Harry said this, but Trent looked slightly amused. Harry had told him the whole story of what happened in the Ministry of Magic that fateful night in June.

"If performed properly, Harry, the Cruciatus curse is slightly more powerful than the Patronus. But I know for a fact you haven't performed it before. Practiced perhaps, but not performed it properly. Good question though. Mr Weasley, you're looking awfully pale. Do you need to go to the hospital wing?" Trent asked.

Ron just shook his head "no Professor. It's just, how could Harry practice that curse when it's illegal?"

"I believe he had extra lessons with that teacher of yours, the one who taught you the Unforgivables in your fourth year."

"Oh, ok then" was all Ron could say in response. Harry looked at Trent, but decided to play along. They didn't need to know the truth.

"How can you judge how powerful a spell is Professor?" Padma queried.

"Excellent question Miss…Patil, five points to Ravenclaw. The easiest way to tell how powerful a spell is is by how effective they are. The Patronus charm drives back Dementors, whereas the Cruciatus can severely incapacitate a person. Therefore the Cruciatus is slightly more powerful. It also depends on the amount of power the witch or wizard puts into the spell.

If that's all the questions for now, I believe Hermione's given me a great idea. For the remainder of the class, we will go over the intricacies of the Patronus charm. We'll also see exactly how many of you can produce one."

With that, Trent got the class to stand up, as he levitated the desks away to the side of the room. "Ok, before we start. Who can tell me the four things a Patronus is useful for?"

"Drives back Dementors" Blaise jumped in.

"Gets rid of Lethifolds" Dean added.

"It can disorientate a Boggart temporarily" Harry said, while the rest of the class looked at him in confusion before Hermione spoke up

"Is that true, Professor?"

"It is. I can only presume that Harry's Boggart is a Dementor. And that he must've come across one accidentally" Harry nodded.

"Anyone else?"

Silence.

"C'mon, it's not that hard surely" Trent asked incredulously before shaking his head.

"You've missed the most obvious thing. A Patronus is a _very_ useful distraction. No spell can get rid of a fully corporeal Patronus. And you people call yourself the _advanced_ class, amazing" Trent shook his head again before teaching the class exactly what is required to produce a Patronus.

They took turns, with Trent reminding them that you must think really happy thoughts. Most people getting three attempts, with only Harry and Hermione being able to produce corporeal Patroni (the familiar stag and otter), everyone else was able to produce mist, but nothing more.

"Excellent start! Right, for your homework, to be handed in next week, I'd like everyone to compile a list of every curse, hex and jinx you know how to perform, and then describe how each of them can be used in battle situations."

The rest of the class went by in silence. Save for the scratching of quill on parchment, and before long, the bell went.

"Great, Potions with Snape" Harry groaned.

"Bad luck mate, glad I'm not doing that. I've got Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid" Ron said.

"But you don't know what's he's going to show you, it might be Aragog" Harry smirked devilishly, while Ron's eyes went exceptionally wide.

"He'd better not! Anyway, I'd best be off, see you at lunch all right?"

"Bye Ron. We should also get going Harry, we don't want to be late" Hermione said, and Harry nodded.

* * *

They walked into the potions dungeon and waited for the rest for the class and Snape to turn up. When everyone was seated and Snape was standing up in front of them, he spoke

"I must say that I'm hardly surprised that so few of you are here. After all, Potions is the most difficult art to master, and it will be no surprise to me if a few of you choose to drop out."

His gaze lingered on Harry before continuing,

"You will find that the next two years will be the hardest you've ever faced. I will not tolerate any assignments that do not meet my standards, and will not hesitate to put those in detention. Potter. What are the main ingredients of Veritaserum?"

Harry looked a little surprised, but he did spend a little extra time on his potions knowledge over the summer and it showed. He rattled off the ingredients to a somewhat stunned Professor Snape. It was the only time he called on Harry to answer any of his questions all lesson.

Snape went on to tell them that the first potions they'd be making and testing on each other, was Veritaserum and its antidote. Snape then informed the class to split into pairs (Harry and Hermione being partners), because the potion takes a while to create correctly. He also gave them some time to decide what questions to ask their partners.

The two of them began to sort out the correct amount of each ingredient they needed, before the bell signalling the end of class rang. The students filed outside and made their way towards the Great Hall for lunch.

While walking, Harry and Hermione were chatting about whether Snape would still be as unfair to them. The class now included all four houses, instead of just Slytherin and Gryffindor that they were used to.

"I mean, I'm not shocked that there are more Slytherin's than other house. But I do hope that he might at least not give and take outrageous amounts of points like he's done for the past five years."

Harry nodded "I can't believe Malfoy actually managed to score an O for potions. At least Crabbe and Goyle aren't there. I actually thought more Ravenclaw's would be doing Potions, but I guess not many wanted to spend another two years with Snape as teacher."

Hermione smiled, and was about to reply when Ron came up behind them

"Hey guys, how was Potions? I still can't believe anyone would actually _choose_ to have Snape for another two years. Maybe you need to visit Madam Pomfrey."

"Very funny, Ron. So how's Aragog?" Harry politely asked.

Ron glared before replying "no idea, Harry. Hagrid said we're not going to cover anything dangerous until after Christmas, and I would put Aragog in that category."

"But what's Hagrid's definition of dangerous, Ron? I mean he might have you doing Welsh Green dragons next week because they're the least dangerous breed of dragon" Hermione added.

Ron just shrugged "we're mainly covering stuff we've already done before. But getting off topic, any idea when Quidditch trials will be, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I guess I'll have to ask McGonagall about it. I'll see on the weekend. The season doesn't start for another month and a half, and even then, we're not playing first anyway. So we've got a bit of time."

They'd made it to the Hall and sat down next to Dean, Seamus and Neville and began discussing what kind of things they'd like to learn in Defence this year. Lunch went by quickly, and all six of them made their way for their first proper duelling lesson.

They entered the classroom, and were surprised at the number of people who had elected to take this subject until Harry remembered Dumbledore saying it was mandatory. Trent and Remus walked in and looked at everyone before starting the class.

"I see that Dumbledore's combined _everyone_ in sixth year. Well then, let's get started. Wands out and follow me please" Trent walked out of the room, closely followed by Remus and the class.

After what felt like an eternity, Trent walked into a room that had obviously not been used for quite some time. It had dust and grime everywhere. Harry thought he could make out a stage, but couldn't be sure. Remus and Trent quickly cleaned up the room, which Harry then recognised as the duelling room that Lockhart had taken them to in their second year. The two Professors then stood in front of the class once again.

"Alright, duelling is the one of the most honoured, yet neglected traditions known to wizardkind. What myself and Professor Lupin will be teaching, is the proper manners required to duel, as well as some nice tricks you can use when duelling. Those of you who have duelled before, and I'm talking about a real duel, not a pathetic little fight in your common rooms, please come up the front."

Harry made his way to the front of the stage, and wasn't surprised to see Malfoy arriving there also. They glared at each other before waiting for further instructions.

"That's it huh. Only two people have been in a real duel? Ok then, this might take a little longer than I thought. Any ideas, Professor Lupin?"

"I guess we can just explain the basics, then have these two demonstrate."

"Very well. In that case, welcome to Introduction to Duelling. All duels take place because one person challenges the other in some way. They are always one on one, with proper wizarding duels having seconds. A second is someone chosen to take over from one of the wizards or witches should they become too injured to continue. Any questions so far?"

No one had any, so Remus took over.

"Each wizard or witch bows to the other and then they start duelling. It's common that once the duel is underway, the offensive spells are rotated between the two combatants. For example, if myself and Professor Fuller were duelling, and I started off with a stunning spell, which he then blocked. I'd have to wait for him to attack me next and defend myself. Understand?"

The class nodded and no one asked any questions, so Trent got Harry and Draco up on the stage and said they could start once they bowed to each other. They did so grudgingly, and Draco got the duel underway with a jelly legs curse. Harry blocked it easily and countered with a stunning charm.

The duel continued for a little while, each trading spells, until Harry got an idea.

"Expecto Patronum!" and the familiar form of Prongs took shape.

Draco looked shocked at the sudden change in tactics, and therefore wasn't prepared for when Harry followed up with a disarming charm. Draco didn't react in time, and the red jet of light hit him in the chest. He fell back, and his wand clattered to the floor.

Trent relieved Draco from his plight, and gave him back his wand. Harry turned to get off the stage, when he felt a whoosh of wind fly past him, and his cheek stung. Harry reached up and felt a considerable amount of blood coming down, which had also splashed onto his robes. Harry was reminded immediately of the incident in Snapes' pensieve, where Snape had cut his father's cheek.

Malfoy had a huge smirk on his face, and the majority of Slytherin's were howling with laughter. Glancing over, Harry saw Ron was on his feet with outrage and Hermione looked shocked.

"Mr Malfoy, this duel is over. It was once Professor Fuller revived you" Remus started.

"Oh, I'm sorry, _Professor_. I must have missed you saying that" Draco said smoothly.

Remus looked thunderstruck. But before he could say anything, Trent stepped in.

"By that as it may, Mr Malfoy. This duel IS over, and you WILL get off the stage."

"No Professor, he won't. I should've expected something like that from him. After all, he's gotten me in the mood for round two" Harry cut in.

Draco looked towards Harry, before walking back into position. Unlike last time, they didn't bow to each other, and before Draco could even think about doing anything, Harry attacked. He didn't wait for Draco to counter his spells either. Harry threw most of what he knew into it, even using some of the pranks Remus and Trent had told him about.

Trent looked livid. "POTTER, STOP THIS INSTANT!" he roared.

Harry ignored him and by the time he was finished, Draco resembled something like a slug in robes, much like he did on the Hogwarts Express a couple of months ago. This time it was the rest of the class were howling with laughter, but both Trent and Remus were not amused.

While Trent was reversing all the damage Harry had done, Remus turned and faced Harry.

"Harry, that sort of act will NOT be tolerated in this class. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!" Remus bellowed.

Harry gulped, and nodded. But Remus wasn't finished, "detention. Tomorrow night at eight o'clock. Professor Fuller's office," Remus then turned to Draco before adding "both of you."

Harry looked humiliated with himself, while Draco was shocked, but had enough sense to keep his mouth shut.

The rest of the lesson passed by without further incident, and the bell rang to indicate the end of the first day of lessons.


	13. Chapter 13 – Of Detentions And Surprises

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Not sure about Matrix stuff yet...I did have the black trench coat. I may use a bit of it in my sequel, possibly just a quote or two.

Ta Keronshara. Have noted your review and changed this chapter accordingly.

One more thing, a bit of Star Wars for you. I think it fits in rather nicely at this point in my story.

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Of Detentions And Surprises**

The next day went much too quickly for Harry and before long he was making his way to Trent's office. He waited outside, and noticed that Draco hadn't yet turned up. Just as eight o'clock ticked by, Draco sauntered up to where Harry was standing. The two of them glared at each other before the door opened and Remus ushered them inside, before leaving Trent to deal with them.

Harry glanced around Trent's room, and spotted several Dark detectors. He could see a foe glass, and several wizarding pictures of various Dark creatures (including a particularly gruesome one of a werewolf during its transformation). Trent was sitting behind his desk, going over his lesson plans for the rest of the week. He then stood up and put up a silencing charm before addressing Harry and Draco.

"Gentlemen. Needless to say, I wasn't the least bit amused with your antics during class yesterday."

Draco opened his mouth, probably to argue Harry thought, before Trent stopped him, "I don't want to hear it, Mr Malfoy. Now seeing as though it's your first week back, I'm feeling rather generous. I won't be making either of you actually do anything tonight. Instead I just thought I'd tell you both how stupid you were."

Trent then sat back down before speaking again,

"Mr Malfoy. You knew that the duel was over once I revived you and gave back your wand. Yet you intentionally attacked Mr Potter. It was both cowardly and pathetic. Frankly I'm surprised that even a Slytherin would sink to that level.

"Not only did you attack Mr Potter, you then ignored Professor Lupin's order of knowing that the fight was over. That sort of behaviour will not be tolerated in my class. For that, I will be taking twenty points from you. I hope your humiliation by Mr Potter will serve as a reminder to you. If you repeat your actions, I will not hesitate to use far more persuasive measures on you. Understood?"

Draco kept silent, and nodded his head.

"Good. Now get out of my sight. Don't worry about Mr Potter. I will be dealing with him now."

Draco shuffled out of the door, his face flushed with embarrassment after Trent reminded him of what Harry had done to him. Trent then stood up and looked at Harry, who found himself not being able to meet Trent's gaze.

"Harry. Harry, look at me please" Trent said quietly.

Harry lifted his head and looked into Trent's eyes. He saw that they were full of sorrow, and if Harry wasn't mistaken, regret.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Harry."

Harry nodded, and his gaze shifted to the floor.

"I expected more from you. You have seen so much in your sixteen years, more than anyone should ever have to in their entire life. You will become of age next year, and to be frank, you are the most mature person I've met for your age. Remus told me how you were quite temperamental last year. I thought you'd grown out of that stage, Harry."

Trent sighed before continuing, "I'm not sure if it's because of what happened that night at the Ministry, but you were so eager to learn all you could during your training. I told you to use your anger to fuel and control your power to a certain extent, but to not let it totally consume you. You're walking a very thin line right now, Harry. I don't think you truly realise what damage you could do to everyone."

Harry looked up at Trent and asked "what do you mean?"

"Harry, have you ever seen a muggle film called 'Star Wars' before?"

Harry shook his head, and Trent sighed again.

"Very well. The film talks about the 'light' and the 'dark side'. It's quite similar to the concept of Light and Dark wizards. Light wizards use their power for the greater good of our world. If that means they must delve slightly into the Dark Arts to achieve this, then they will. Albus is the perfect example of this. He killed Grindelwald. How else could he done this without using Dark magic?"

Harry thought about it and replied "he could've used a sword or something."

"Perhaps, but he didn't. He used the Killing curse, Harry. Can you honestly imagine Albus doing that? I sure can't, yet he did. Albus gets angry, he may not show it, but he does. We all do. The difference between Light wizards and Dark ones _is_ their anger. I remember a quote from that film; 'anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the dark side'..."

"The only person I hate is Voldemort" Harry interrupted somewhat defensively

Trent looked into Harry's eyes and asked "do you remember what I told you on the train?"

Harry racked his mind to before he remembered the previous confrontation with Malfoy. He nodded, "you said it's better to avoid a fight if possible."

"Exactly. You could have walked away from that one yesterday, but instead you let your anger get the best of you. You are very powerful, Harry, and I'm not just saying that to boost your ego. I'm saying it because you scare me."

Harry looked confused before answering back "I don't understand."

"If you continue to let your anger consume you, there's no telling how powerful you could become. Dark spells are no stronger than Light ones. They only make you more powerful quicker, and therefore seem stronger. Light spells will give you the same power, but it will take longer to achieve. It can be very tempting, Harry. Every time you lose your anger, the darkness is calling for you, willing you to submit to it. It's a very subtle process, in fact you hardly even notice it at first."

"Just get to the point, Trent" Harry said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Fine, I'll be as direct as I can, Harry. If you continue doing what you did yesterday, you will end up being just like Voldemort. That blunt enough for you?"

Harry stood there in shock, before managing to say "I…I don't believe you."

Trent put his head in his hands before speaking again, "Harry, listen to me. You know how Voldemort changed his name from Tom Riddle, correct?"

Harry nodded and Trent carried on,

"He was similar to you when he was your age. Very powerful, but also had a lot of anger inside him. He gave into the temptation the darkness provided. I'm saying that unless you want that to happen to you, you'd better learn to control your anger. You won't always have your friends and Professors around you to keep you in line. You'll be responsible for most of your own actions from next year. Once you start down the path to darkness, you almost certainly won't be able to turn back. Your friends would desert you, thus making you sink further into the darkness. Do you really want that to happen, Harry? Look me in the eye and tell me that you want everyone who loves you, to abandon you."

Harry once again became very interested in the floor, so he didn't see Trent nod.

"That's what I thought. You may think I'm crazy telling you all this and that you'd never do any of it. But I remember Albus having a similar discussion with Tom some fifty years ago. Its part of my memories I got from Tom. That's all I have to tell you tonight. I suggest you go back to your dorm. Just think about what I've said, all right? Oh, and twenty points from Gryffindor."

"Yes sir" Harry replied meekly before Trent escorted him outside into the hallway.

* * *

It was Thursday before Harry had managed to talk to Professor McGonagall about having trails for the new Quidditch season. McGonagall told him that she'd book the pitch for Sunday, and that he'd better put some notices up in the common room for those who would be interested in trying out. Harry did this over lunch before making his way to the classroom for his first Introduction to Wandless Magic lesson. The first thing he noticed was that Trent was standing at the front of the room. Harry then only saw four other people (Neville, Blaise, Justin and Padma) in the classroom. He wondered how many others would be turning up before Trent spoke

"Right. We're all here, so let's get started."

"_Five_ people! That's it?" Justin asked.

"Yes. You see many people enrolled but only you five met the requirements."

"What kind of _requirements_ are we talking about?" Blaise asked.

"You are the only students in your current year, that have shown enough potential to be taught this. By that I mean you've all done very strong pieces of wandless magic before. Mr Potter, what's the strongest piece of wandless magic you can remember doing?"

Harry thought about it for a while before answering "I er…made a glass display disappear at the zoo once when I was ten."

Trent nodded "ok. Everyone knows what wandless magic is, but not many fully understand it. It's kind of difficult to explain, but I'll try my best. All wizards and witches have magical energy stored inside of them. We use our wands and incantations to channel that energy into the spells we use. Everyone with me so far?"

Everyone nodded, so Trent carried on,

"It is possible for wizards, and witches…does anyone have any problem if I just refer to all magical people as wizards? It'll take me less time to explain, but I don't want to offend anyone" Trent looked between Blaise and Padma as he asked this.

Padma spoke up "I don't mind, it was good of you to ask though"

Blaise also nodded her approval at Trent.

"Thank you. As I was saying, it's possible for wizards to be able to do most spells without a wand. But it's incredibly difficult. You all know how most spells require certain wand movements to produce the effects."

The class nodded their heads, and Harry was reminded of the levitation charm.

"Well therein lies the problem. It's ridiculously difficult to do wandless magic because you can't get the movements right with your arms. Most wandless magic is done during times of extreme emotion, anger for example. These are referred to as _accidental_ magic, but this is wrong. What it should be called is _emotional_ magic. But wandless magic has its limits. Wizards can't do any Dark Arts spells with it, including the Unforgivables. I'll show you."

Trent withdrew a glass containing a spider. Harry was reminded of his fourth year when Crouch had demonstrated the Unforgivables. Trent then proceeded to issue the Killing curse, but nothing happened. He then used his wand, and the familiar jet of green light struck the spider killing it instantly.

Trent then returned his focus to the class.

"Right. I know most of you won't like your new Professor, but I want you to treat him with the respect you would to your other Professors. It's the first time he's ever taught, so be nice."

Trent clapped his hands once and there was a 'pop'

Harry's eye widened in surprise before he said "Dobby?"


	14. Chapter 14 – Tis The Season To Be Traini...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Hmm, I did mention I liked Star Wars. I think it's rather appropriate, particularly about Harry's anger. Remember, this is just my ideas of what book 6 should be like. I know I will be WAY off the mark (heck we've already been told the title haven't we!). I'm hoping to crunch out both books before JKR releases hers.

As for Harry apparating when he was 7, Snape did tell him that he would find it easy (chapter…3 I think). He will learn more about it (apparition) soon enough, trust me!

Hmm, I just noticed that I am not listed anywhere when you search. Wonder how that happened? Answers on a postcard to...

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Tis The Season To Be Training**

"Yes, Mr Harry Potter sir. Dobby is pleased to be seeing you again" squeaked the excitable house elf.

"We're being taught by a _house elf_?"

"Yes, Mr Finch-Fletchley. House elves are fantastic at wandless magic, and Professor Dumbledore decided not to burden me with another subject to teach. After all, I am taking all the Defence and Duelling classes. Not to mention the two month course on Apparition. If anyone has a problem with this arrangement, by all means leave. No one is stopping you."

Everyone sat in stunned silence, before Trent continued "fair enough then. If that's all Professor Dobby, then I shall let you begin teaching."

"Thanking you Mr Professor sir. Dobby is be honoured to teach."

Trent walked to the door before facing the class for the last time.

"Remember, he has the same powers a normal Professor has. That includes giving and taking house points and handing out detentions. Give him the respect all Professors deserve."

With that, Trent walked out of the class, leaving Dobby to get on with his lessons.

"Ok. The first spell I is teaching you is the Immobilisation charm. The talking for it is 'Majoro Statisio'. Mr Harry Potter sir, would be you so kind to come up here?"

Harry got up and walked up to Dobby. He remembered this was the spell Trent used on Remus the first time Harry saw them sparring. Harry was anxious to learn this spell, and if Dobby was the one to teach him, who was he to argue?

Dobby then demonstrated the spell on Harry, before saying that there was no counter spell for it. He then gave them a list of spells and their incantations that Trent had written for Dobby to give the class. For the remainder of the lesson, Harry and the rest of the class practiced the spells. No one was able to reproduce any of the spells, and Harry had felt they must have looked like fools standing around pointing their arms, and shouting words which had no effect at all. As the class ended, Harry heard a few whispers saying how this class would be a waste of time, and so far, Harry had to agree.

* * *

Sunday dawned, and with it came Harry's first taste of what it would be like to be Quidditch captain. Professor McGonagall had booked the pitch for three hours, starting at nine o'clock. Harry and Ron both had a quick breakfast (a first for Ron), before they grabbed their brooms and headed down to the Quidditch pitch for practice.

As soon as Harry spotted the familiar site, he smiled. He always felt relaxed whenever he was in the air. Hermione had tried to get him to explain what he felt, but words couldn't do it justice. He felt free and alive. He glanced at Ron before mounting his Firebolt and doing a few lazy laps of the field before practising some steep dives. He noticed a crowd gathering, so he dropped back down and landed before walking over to the group.

"Right. Listen up. Those of you here to try out, head out onto the field. If you're here to watch, go up to the stands."

The crowd divided, and Harry spotted Hermione and Neville heading off to the stands to watch. He turned his attention back to the group of hopefuls before addressing them again.

"Ok, so all of you are here to try out for the two vacant chaser positions?"

The group nodded their approval before Harry continued.

"Alright then, the first part of the exercise is to see how good you are at working in a team. You'll be going up with Katie. Myself and the rest of the team will see how well you interact with some basic chaser formations. There are twelve of you here, so break up into pairs. All teams will have ten minutes in the air each. That'll take up an hour. The rest of the time will be spent to see how good you are at scoring goals one on one against Ron. Right, split up and let's go."

Harry, Ron, Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke watched as Katie proceeded to take up each pairing and put them through their paces. Once Katie had landed the candidates had started taking penalty shots against Ron. Two people stood out and both scored with twelve of their fifteen shot attempts; Ginny was one, the other being a third year by the name of Rick Symonds.

Once Ron had come back down, Harry asked if Katie felt comfortable with anyone in particular. Katie told him that Ginny was the easiest to work with, and the rest were pretty much on a par, but still some way behind Ginny. Harry then asked Ron how relaxed Ginny and Rick looked when he was facing them. Ron shrugged, and said that they both looked quite relaxed, and it was hard to read were their shots were going, and that's why he only managed to save three from each of them.

Harry then broke out of the team huddle before addressing those who tried out.

"Thank you everyone for being here. I know ten of you will feel disappointed, but you needn't be. You all gave your best, and besides, you'll get another chance next year after Katie leaves. I'll post the successful people in the common room. The rest of the team and me will discuss who we think will be best suited. Enjoy your day."

With that Harry and his friends separated from the group and headed back to the common room to get started on their homework. They all pulled out some parchment and began to compile their list of spells and uses in battle situation for Defence.

Harry had just started on his third foot of parchment when he noticed Ron, Ginny and Hermione giving him funny looks.

"What?" Harry asked innocently

"You aren't listing reasons, Harry. You've just listed the spells."

"I know that, Hermione. I'm listing all the spells I know first. Then I'll go back and figure out battle situations for them, don't worry about it."

Ron looked at Harry's list

"Carpe Retractum? What possible use could that be?"

"Simple Ron. It's used to pull you towards something right. So you could use it as a means of escape."

Hermione looked impressed and asked "What about the Glacius charm, Harry?"

Ron answered "That's easy, Hermione, even I can come up with something for that. You'd just freeze someone's feet to the ground."

Harry nodded before adding "or you could use it so they'd slip on it."

Ginny got a wicked glint in her eye and turned towards Hermione and casually remarked

"You know, Hermione. If I didn't know better, I'd say these two are catching up with you."

Hermione glared at the red head before muttering something along the lines of "we'll see who's catching up to whom later when exams are here."

Harry then said "hey Hermione, I just remembered something. You'll have to include that Protean charm you used last year. I can't think of a reason though."

Hermione's eyes widened and she said "you're right. I'd totally forgotten about that. Thanks Harry!"

Harry then excused himself as he needed to find the rest of the Quidditch team to discuss the new chasers. He found Jack, Andrew and Katie before telling them to meet him after dinner in the common room.

He then informed Ron, before settling back down to continue his Defence homework until it was time for dinner. He met up with the rest of the team afterwards, and all agreed that Ginny and Rick would be the new chasers. Harry them put up the notice in the common room to let everyone know. Nobody was too surprised at this, as those two were the most impressive of all the people who tried out. Harry then informed the new look team that their first training run would be next weekend.


	15. Chapter 15 – First Contact

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Blaise is a guy! Really? Hmm oh well, just ignore it and assume he is a she, I know quite a few other stories that have done the same so...

Yes I follow the cricket. Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds are dead-set legends for the Aussie one-day team! Both are very powerful batters and have brilliant throwing arms, somewhat appropriate for a chaser I reckon.

Oh and yes, I have got and played the Prisoner of Azkaban game, that's where I got the Glacius and Carpe Retractum spells from. Quite enjoyed the game too, but nowhere near as…complete as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Now THAT is a game!

* * *

**Chapter 15 – First Contact**

The first training session for the new look Gryffindor Quidditch team went by, and Harry had to admit that he was impressed with what he saw. Ron, Ginny and Katie had told him stories last year of what he could expect from Jack and Andrew, but during training, Harry had to sometimes take a double look to make sure he wasn't seeing the Weasley twins back in action. Andrew admitted to Harry after practice, that they'd practiced hard over the holidays. Harry told Andrew that it had definitely paid off.

Ron had become much more confident in his keeping abilities, and Harry felt this was due to his performance during the final Quidditch game of last year. Ginny and Rick were settling in nicely, and Katie had been somewhat surprised at just how well the three of them had worked together. She told Harry that it took some time for Alicia, Angelina and herself to become the team they were, and that she felt very confident with the two newcomers. Harry had asked her why she didn't get the captaincy, but Katie told him that she didn't think she'd have time with her NEWT's this year. Harry admitted she had a point, before walking back to the dorm with Ron.

Harry was sitting on his bed in the dorm later that afternoon, arguing with Ron about the Marauder's map.

"C'mon Harry, just let me borrow it. Please?"

"No Ron, you didn't ask for it last year, why do you want it now?"

"I forgot you had it all right! Please let me borrow it. It'll make my patrols way easier" Ron pleaded.

"For Merlin's sake Ron, which part of 'no' don't you understand. You're paired up with someone from Ravenclaw. If they even see this, they'll become suspicious and it'll end up being confiscated. I'm sorry, but you'll have to patrol the hard way."

Ron looked hurt, but had to agree that Harry had a point. So Ron had sulked out of the dorm to start his patrol while Harry was shaking his head at how stubborn Ron could be sometimes. His mind drifted to the map that was at the bottom of his trunk. Remus had told Trent that Peter was somewhere inside Hogwarts, but was unaware that Harry had heard him.

Harry never mentioned this to anyone, and decided to see if Peter showed up on the map. After all, Remus and Sirius had mentioned that the map never lies, so Harry thought he'd put that theory to the test.

He rifled through his trunk and pulled out the bit of old parchment and whispered the password. The map materialised and Harry could make out all the people that were wandering the castle. He saw that Ron was walking alongside someone named 'Samantha Everclear', and Harry assumed that she was his patrol partner for tonight. His eyes scanned every part of the map until they finally rested on a dot labelled 'Peter Pettigrew'.

Harry felt his hands begin to clench into fists. The man who'd betrayed his parents and sold them to Voldemort was again within the walls of Hogwarts. The problem was that Harry saw that Peter was being held in a dungeon that he'd never been in before. He also noticed that there was a dot labelled 'Severus Snape' standing nearby.

Harry decided to check the map every night and wait until Peter was alone before confronting him. Harry wanted answers, and wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by.

* * *

A few days went by before Harry was able to see that Peter was alone, so he grabbed his invisibility cloak and crept his way towards where Peter was located, checking the map for any signs of trouble.

He got as far as being outside the dungeon where Peter was held, when he spotted Remus' dot coming closer. Harry squeezed up next to the wall and waited while Remus came into view. His werewolf senses didn't seem to pick up Harry, and when Remus opened the door, he didn't notice when Harry slipped in behind him.

Harry followed Remus at a safe distance, only stopping when Remus stopped and started talking. Harry couldn't see Peter but inched his way closer, straining to hear what Remus was saying.

"…conversation didn't end particularly well, Peter. I know why you were at Harry's place during the summer. I know how you managed to capture Harry's owl, and impersonate his Uncle. The sad thing is that you were caught by the one you were sent to capture. Harry told me the story of how he found out who you were, and stunned you. Remarkable for a sixteen year old isn't he? Not that you care of course. How do you think Voldemort feels not knowing where you are?"

"Don't say his name. The Dark Lord is far superior to Dumbledore or that Potter brat..." Peter was cut off when Remus sent a hex at him.

"_Never_ talk about Harry like that. He's twenty times the wizard you'll _ever_ be, Peter. You're spineless. I can't believe Harry doesn't want me to kill you, but it is more than you deserve. You deserve to know what he's going through. Thanks to you, James, Lily and now Sirius are dead Peter. And you know as well as I do, that you are responsible for those deaths."

"Not Sirius'. That was Potter's own idiocy to think that the Dark Lord had captured…" he was cut off again by another curse sent by Remus.

"I told you not to say that about Harry. Next time I won't be as pleasant, Peter. You're going to be here until you tell us what Voldemort is planning. And even after you do tell us, you're not going back to Voldemort. Oh no, Severus has a much better use for you. He's _dying_ to try out some new potions he's been working on" Remus smirked.

Peter managed to squeak out "you…you wouldn't! Remus, it's me…your friend!"

"You aren't the Peter I once knew. That Peter would never have betrayed James and Lily. That Peter would've died, just like Sirius told you that night in the Shrieking Shack" Remus snarled.

"You…you're right, Remus. I…I'm an idiot. I didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry. I don't know what the Dark Lord is planning. All I know is he's trying to get those who got caught out of Azkaban."

"You lie! You know much more than that, Peter. I'm not stupid you know. You're lucky Dumbledore's not letting us use Veritaserum on you. We'll continue this chat later. I'd better go before I break Harry's promise of not killing you."

With that Remus stalked off and left the dungeon. Harry made his way over to where Peter was and nearly gasped. He looked terrible. He had cuts and bruises all over his face, arms and legs. His hair was a matted mess of dirty blond. Peter's clothes were spattered and stained with blood. His eyes looked dead and haunted, and Harry felt that he mustn't have had a decent meal in a good while. For a brief moment, Harry felt sorry for him.

Harry couldn't bear to look at Peter anymore, and quickly made his way back to the dungeon door. He glanced at the map to check if anyone would see him and was thankful that no one was around. He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

He made his way back to his dorm, but found he couldn't get the image of Peter out of his mind. It reminded him of the way Sirius looked when Harry had first seen him in his human form. The same sunken face, those haunted eyes. Harry found himself wondering what happened to the Peter his father had become friends with, and what had driven him to join Voldemort's ranks.

* * *

Harry was still brooding about last night and Peter, when Trent tapped him on the shoulder and brought him out of his thoughts. "Harry, you seemed a bit distracted today. Is something wrong?"

"Why don't you read my mind and find out" Harry replied, somewhat snappishly.

Trent ignored Harry's tone and smiled.

"Actually Harry, I doubt I could. You see, your Occlumency blocks out mind readers. And as you've got your shields up, I can't break through."

Harry smiled weakly back, and an idea formed in his mind. "Could I see you about something? I need your help."

Trent looked suspicious before replying, "depends on what it's about. Tell you what, I'm quite busy this week, but I should be free by next Tuesday. You can come by after dinner and see me then if you like."

Harry agreed then made his way from the classroom. He was going to ask Trent about teaching him to apparate like the house elves. While he was at it, he also decided to see if Trent would help him to detect people's magical aura. Much like he had started in the Spirit Room just under two months ago.


	16. Chapter 16 – A Matter Of Trust

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

This will be the last chapter I post before I go home for Xmas. I won't be back until January 14, and as I haven't seen my friends for a year, I daresay I'll be rather busy for those three weeks. Just thought I'd let you know, I haven't abandoned my story just as it's getting interesting, I just might not have access to it for a while.

Merry Xmas to you all, and I hope you have a great new year as well!

* * *

**Chapter 16 – A Matter Of Trust**

Harry and Hermione were standing at their table in potions finishing off their batch of Veritaserum and its antidote.

"Right, now all of you should have something that resembles a clear liquid."

He glared at Harry before continuing, "those of you who have managed to make this potion correctly, will be able to tell once you give it to your partner. Those of you who haven't…"

He glanced at Harry, who swore he saw Snape smile. But before Harry could think more on the matter, Snape continued talking "will find the potion quite useless. You may begin whenever you like."

Harry looked at Hermione and asked her if she wanted him to take the potion. She agreed, so Harry picked up a spoonful, and gulped it down. He immediately felt drowsy, but didn't feel like going to sleep. He could vaguely hear Hermione asking her questions, but she sounded much further away than she actually was.

"What's your favourite colour?"

Harry found himself answering without thinking.

"Maroon"

"What's your favourite subject?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry was quite shocked at the power this potion had over him.

A few minutes later, Harry had taken the antidote, and it was Hermione's turn for the potion. Harry then asked a few innocent questions,

"What's your favourite book?"

"'The Lord of the Rings', by J. R. R. Tolkien."

Harry blinked. He'd been expecting her to say 'Hogwarts: A History'.

"Er, who's your favourite teacher?"

"Professor Lockhart."

Harry stifled a laugh. He was kind of expecting that, but it was still hilarious. Hermione then swallowed the antidote, and looked at Harry horrified.

"Don't worry Hermione, I'm not telling anyone. It's all about trust, besides we didn't ask anything overly personal."

Hermione agreed, albeit a little reluctantly, and the two of them shifted their focus back to the lesson.

Snape asked them to cork their samples of both potions and to bring them forward. Harry remembered what Snape had done to some of his potions last year, and quickly put an unbreakable charm on them. He then kept two vials of Veritaserum and its antidote (four vials in total) in case Snape decided to vanish his samples again.

* * *

Harry made his way to his Defence Professor's office after dinner. He, Ron and Hermione had finished talking about their respective days, but Harry kept his word and didn't tell Ron what Hermione had said when under Veritaserum. Ron and Hermione then left to start on their Charms homework, while Harry went to meet Trent.

Trent was waiting for Harry and ushered him inside. Once Harry was seated, he was able to have a look around Trent's office. He spotted the picture of the werewolf in the process of its transformation. He also recognised pictures of a Grindylow and a Kappa, before spotting something he'd never seen before.

"Pr…Trent, what's the picture next to the Grindylow?"

Trent looked to where Harry was pointing and smiled.

"That, Harry, is a Bunyip. It's an Australian dark creature. You won't learn about it, because they're extinct. The last known capture of one was 1843, and no one has seen any since. They're highly intelligent, and have a fantastic sense of smell. But enough of that, what brings you to my office? I'm dying to know why you wanted to meet with me so urgently."

Harry smiled sheepishly, "it's not _that_ urgent. I was just hoping you'd help me learn more about sensing other people's auras, that's all"

"No"

"No? What do you mean?"

"Exactly that. No. I'm not going to teach you more about it."

"Why not?" Harry asked, starting to get a little frustrated by Trent's refusal.

"You just asked that."

"Yeah, and you didn't give me a reason. You just said you wouldn't."

Trent stood up, and turned his back on him. Harry was getting annoyed at being ignored, but before he could say anything, Trent turned around.

"Fine, you want my reason? You want to know why I'm not going to help you with this? You think I don't _want_ to help you?"

Harry nodded. Trent sighed before continuing, "Harry, look. I'm not going to help you because frankly, I don't trust you."

Harry looked incredulously before spluttering "what…you don't trust me! After everything you told me about your past, all you can say is you don't trust me! This is about what happened in Duelling class, isn't it!"

Trent closed his eyes and when he opened them, Harry could feel those hazel eyes boring into his own.

"Partly. It's not that I don't trust _you_ Harry, I don't trust your judgement. I can't tell you exactly how to detect other people's aura, or how to figure out whose aura belongs to whom. I can only sense those people who have particularly strong auras and who I know. Having said that, I could tell you exactly where my esteemed _brother_ is hiding right this very second."

Harry looked stunned, and Trent continued "I hope you never find out how to do this, Harry. Or at the very least, not for a long while. You have been known for acting on impulse before, and I'm scared for you."

"You've told me that before. You're not still talking about me becoming the next Voldemort, are you?"

"No, but you do always seem to have the weight of the world on your shoulders. You seem to believe that you're responsible for everything Voldemort does. I'm afraid of what will happen if you actually do figure out how to sense Voldemort's aura. That you'd go after him without a moments hesitation."

Harry just looked at Trent for a while before admitting defeat.

"You're right. As much as I want to argue, I can't. Because deep down, I know you're right."

Trent looked relieved before saying "you've grown up, Harry. I know you're probably sick of people telling you how much you look like James, but I see more of Lily in you."

Harry looked up. "What? No one's told me that before."

Trent smiled "while it's true you _look_ like James, you act a lot like Lily. She was compassionate, kind to her friends, and also had a lightening quick temper. Or so your father and his friends told me."

Harry grimaced as he was reminded of how he acted at times last year.

"You aren't really into pranks like James was. And when you put your mind to something, you won't stop until you've mastered it. Remus said Lily was like that."

"I wish you'd tell Snape. He's always going on about how I'm _exactly_ like my Dad."

"Try not to worry about him too much, Harry. Severus knows how to hold a grudge, and nothing will change his mind."

"But he was actually nice to me when he picked me up from the Dursley's in the summer. I thought he must've hit his head or something."

Trent chuckled "Severus may act like a…well like he does, but most of it's an act. It's true that he doesn't like you very much because you're James' son. But remember, he's a spy. He's had years of practice and knows how to act in certain situations. What do you think Voldemort would do if Severus started being nice to you all the time? He has to keep up appearances."

"I never thought of it like that. If he's acting, then he's really good at it."

"I did say he's had years of practice didn't I? Anyway, what did you really come to me for? I daresay it wasn't just to have a chat about sensing energy, was it?"

Harry looked a little sheepish before replying,

"Well, most of it was, but I do have a couple other questions. Is it possible to change your magical signature, so people can't recognise you? And my other question is when do you have time to teach me about how the house elves apparate around Hogwarts?"

Trent frowned at Harry, but Harry knew he was just thinking about what to say.

"I'm not sure, Harry. No one's ever had any reason to change their magical signature before. I really have no idea, there might be, but it'd most likely be a really old spell that hasn't been used in centuries. As for learning about the house elves, I should have some time just before Christmas. I guess we could start then."

Harry agreed then decided that he'd better get back to Gryffindor tower before anyone caught him being out this late. He was about to leave when Trent grabbed his arm.

"I'll show you a little taste of what to expect."

Harry looked around and took in his surroundings. He was stunned to find himself back in the Gryffindor common room. Harry turned to Trent and stuttered "that…that's amazing, but won't it set off alarms or anything?"

"Do you hear anything? The house elves don't, so why should I? Besides, this way you won't get in trouble for being out at this time of night. Anyway, see you tomorrow."

With that, Trent vanished in a flash of orange light, leaving Harry alone in the common room. Harry trudged up to his dorm and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, despite the information Trent had given him swirling around inside his mind.


	17. Chapter 17 – Scouting Around

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I have no idea if Harry even likes maroon! He is in Gryffindor, plus I am a Queenslander, so I just thought maroon was the obvious choice.

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Scouting Around**

The five students walked out of their latest Wandless magic lesson, still trying to unlearn everything they knew about doing magic with wands. Harry had come the closest to being able to produce the Immobilisation charm Dobby was continuing to teach them. He had managed to produce a very fine translucent green light, but it had dissipated within seconds. They five had gotten to know each other a little better, and Justin was voicing his opinion on yet another 'wasted' lesson.

"I mean, we're not learning anything! He tells us to try and forget everything that we consider normal!"

"Harry's getting the hang of it" Blaise told him

"But that's because he's 'Harry Potter'. No offence, Harry."

"None taken, Justin. I have had a little practice with wandless magic before. Maybe it takes a while to figure it out."

"What do you mean you've had practice? With who?" Padma asked.

"Professors Fuller and Lupin are pretty good friends. Remus knew my Dad when they were at Hogwarts, and they became best friends. I learnt the Patronus charm last time Remus was here, he taught me actually. Anyway, Trent came to where I stayed over summer, and gave me a little training as he knew I was taking the subject"

"Really? Then you should know how to do all this then, Harry."

"Not likely, Neville. He basically just gave me some advice about it. The same stuff that Dobby's been telling us. Are you guys going to take Apparition?"

"Yeah, I might as well. I mean it'd be cool to be able to do that once you turn seventeen. It's only a two month course though isn't it?" Blaise asked.

"It is. That's what Trent told me. I wonder if he'll demonstrate splinching!"

Everyone started to laugh after Harry had said this, and Justin changed the topic once he'd managed to calm down.

"Who d'you reckon will win the Quidditch match on the weekend?"

Ravenclaw were playing Slytherin, and Harry looked thoughtful before answering,

"Should be a good game. Ravenclaw probably have the slightly better players, but Slytherin do have better teamwork. Mind you, I wouldn't mind seeing Crabbe or Goyle whack Malfoy with a bludger!"

"I should hex you Harry, but I wouldn't mind seeing that myself" Blaise mused.

"Wonder if any Scouts will turn up."

"Scouts? What for Justin?" Harry asked.

"Well, the qualifiers for the World Cup start next year. Judging by how pathetic the English team played at the last one, I'd hope they're searching for new players."

"They've got the leagues though. I mean, wouldn't they search there before coming to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, they would. But it didn't work last time. We haven't won it in ages. They need to do something drastic, and maybe looking elsewhere is the answer."

"Well, the only player they'd be checking out here would be Harry" Padma said.

Harry blushed slightly before muttering that he's not that good, but Justin scoffed,

"Don't be stupid, Harry. You're by far the best seeker Hogwarts has seen for some time. You've only lost one game, and that was due to those Dementors turning up. After the performance from the English seeker last time well…that was embarrassing. The snitch was hovering three feet in front of him yet he _still_ didn't get it before the other team. Useless."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Neville piped up before continuing,

"I mean, we agree that Harry's the best seeker here. Oliver Wood was the best keeper…"

"Still is. He's killing them in the league for Puddlemere. Opposing beaters are trying to make a habit of going after him before anyone else" Blaise interrupted.

"What about beaters though? The ones we had at the last cup weren't bad."

"That's true. But they're both thinking about retiring at the end of this season, so we'll need some new ones." Justin said.

Harry spoke up, "I felt the Weasley twins were the best ones going around here"

"Totally agree. Actually, why don't we just enter the old Gryffindor team? You couldn't do any worse than our last lot!" Justin said, smirking at Harry.

Harry wasn't looking and said, "they need to find someone to take Bagman's job though first don't they? He hasn't come back yet has he?"

"And he won't either. I think they've found a replacement for him. Anderson…Daniel Anderson's replaced Bagman. Hopefully he'll do a better job too."

"Bagman was a great player in his day though" Harry said, remembering what he'd seen from Dumbledore's pensieve in his fourth year.

"Quite right, but most of the time, great players don't make great managers. Anyway I might as well get started on our Defence homework. I can't believe he wants us to write three feet on the Unforgivables. Where are we going to find that much information on them!"

They each parted, with Harry and Neville heading off to Gryffindor tower. They walked in silence for a while until Neville spoke up

"What do you hope to do once you finish Hogwarts, Harry? You reckon you'll go into Quidditch like Justin said?"

"I dunno, Neville. I wouldn't mind being an Auror. Having said that though, I do enjoy Quidditch. But I'm not sure if I'd be able to do that for a living."

"An Auror. Wow. That won't be easy. How are you going in Potions, by the way?"

"Not too bad actually, Snape hasn't been as biased this year. Probably because all the houses are together. But me and Hermione managed to make Veritaserum correctly, so we mustn't be doing that bad."

Neville looked impressed "that's not an easy potion to make. You made the antidote for it yet?"

Harry nodded "yeah we were doing both at the same time. What about you, what do you want to do?"

Neville shrugged, "I haven't really thought about it much. I mean the only subject I really enjoy is Herbology. I'm thinking something in that field. I can't believe how quick our time has gone. We've got less than two years here. Seems like yesterday we were first years."

"And we met Fluffy. Now _there's_ a scary sight if I ever saw one!"

Neville nodded his head before the two of them sat down to start on the Defence essay that Justin had talked about. They were joined soon after by Hermione and Ron. Hermione had nearly finished her essay and decided to do some Charms reading on the Confundus charm, when Harry broke the silence.

"You know. I'm starting to get a little worried. Voldemort's been awful quiet lately. He must be planning something. I don't like this calmness."

"You're right, Harry. I thought that now everyone knows he's back, that he'd be more aggressive."

Ron then said "he'll do something on Halloween. It's always Halloween. Something horrible happens every time it comes around!"

"First year, the troll. Second year, the Chamber gets opened. Third year, Sirius breaks in. Fourth year, my name comes out of the goblet. And last year, the Azkaban breakouts. I see what you mean Ron" Harry said, ticking them off on his hand.

"Whatever he is planning, I guess we'll know soon enough then. I mean it's only what, two weeks until Halloween. I'd rather you concentrate on next weekend, Ron."

Ron looked confused, and Hermione slapped the side of his head before filling him in.

"You've got a Quidditch game against Ravenclaw. Harry would like his keeper to be in top form."

"Oh yeah! Don't worry, Harry. We've been training real well, despite you getting us up at ridiculous times."

"Eight o'clock is not a ridiculous time, Ron!" Harry retorted.

"It is for a Sunday, Harry. Besides, Dad said there might be a couple Scouts for the game. We _have_ to play well."

'Great, more attention' Harry though to himself while Neville explained their previous conversation with the others about Quidditch.


	18. Chapter 18 – Caught Not Unawares

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

In no way was my last chapter a dig from a disgruntled Aussie about the fact that England beat us in the Rugby World Cup final last year (heck, I got over that after our League team clean swept the Ashes a month later!). I know some of you won't believe me and that's fine, but I was just trying to create a decent scenario for why Scouts would want to turn up for Hogwarts Quidditch matches.

Oh, and cheers to Keronshara again for telling me about Lethifolds for chapter 13!

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Caught Not Unawares**

Harry's classes were going nicely. He hadn't been having any trouble so far, Defence was still his favourite. Trent had taught them more about the Patronus charm, before getting into how the more dangerous dark creatures like Vampires, Lethifolds and Banshees, which Dean and Seamus both were enjoying. Trent had told them that next week they would be practising the Unforgivables.

Potions was also going well. After successfully brewing Veritaserum, Snape had them move onto the Polyjuice Potion. Hermione and Harry both managed to keep straight faces, despite giving each other small smiles when Snape was describing the potion. Harry was actually starting to enjoy Potions, despite Snape. In fact, Snape had been acting somewhat more normal since all the classes were represented. He wasn't giving or taking ridiculous amounts of points anymore, and Harry had to admit, that Snape wasn't a bad teacher when he wanted to be.

Tranfiguration was probably the most interesting subject. McGonagall had started the year teaching them more about Animagi. Since then, she'd been taking the subject one step further and getting involved in more complex human transfiguration. She'd covered changing inanimate objects into small animals, much like Cedric had done in the first task of the triwizard tournament. She was now teaching them about people who can change their appearance, or Metamorphmagi like Tonks.

Duelling and Charms had been entertaining as well. Mainly due to the fact that Ron was in both classes. Ron had taken great pleasure in what Harry had done to Malfoy in their first duelling class. Every time Malfoy started to bad mouth him or Harry, Ron quickly reminded Malfoy about it. Trent and Remus had taught them several useful techniques, including a neat jumping charm (wingardium boundiosa) which made the person jump a clear five feet in the air before coming down.

Charms had included lessons in the Fidelius charm, which Harry had found greatly interesting. He knew that this was the charm that his parents had used, with Peter being their secret keeper, and was keen to learn as much about it as possible. In fact, Harry had given the best essay on that topic, when you take out Hermione's. And even then, she'd only just got a better grade. Professor Flitwick was currently teaching them Memory charms, much to Ron's displeasure.

"I just don't see the point in teaching us something that makes you forget!"

"Remember Ron, that's what Lockhart was going to do on us in the Chamber in second year."

"True, but then the git ended up blasting himself with it anyway."

"Just drop it, Ron. Professor Flitwick is teaching us how to do them, and that's final" Hermione snapped.

Ron continued to argue with her as they made their way to the Hall for breakfast. Harry was thinking about what Neville had said about their time at Hogwarts flying past. In fact, the current year was going fast enough.

Harry's first Quidditch game as captain had been a wonderful moment. He'd beaten Cho to the snitch easily and Gryffindor had comfortably won. Thinking about Cho, Harry was a little bit surprised that she didn't stir up the same emotions in him she did before. 'I guess that means I'm over her' Harry thought.

Harry had almost missed the snitch as he'd been flying so quickly, but he'd managed to execute an incredible flip manoeuvre. He was about to overshoot it when he flipped himself over and grabbed the tiny golden ball upside down. Everyone had slapped him on his back after that, saying it was the best snitch capture they'd seen in a Quidditch game for quite a while.

Ron brought him out of his thoughts when he started talking about the Quidditch game.

"I still say that was the best snitch grab I've ever seen Harry. That was wicked! And the best part was that there were two scouts in the crowd. You sure got them to notice you, that's for sure!"

"Well, I was lucky I didn't fall off."

"Bollocks, Harry. You're a natural at flying. You could probably go Pro if you decided not to be an Auror."

"Well you guys all played fantastically as well. I'm really pleased how Katie, Ginny and Rick are coming along working as a unit. Jack and Andrew have gotten loads better as well. While you…well, you made some amazing saves, so don't give me all the credit!"

Ron grinned "yeah I know. But you have to admit your part was really cool!"

Harry returned the smile "I'm not denying it, trust me!"

The morning rush of owls heralded the day's news and Hermione grabbed her copy of the Daily Prophet after paying the owl.

Her eyes glanced the front page before she let out a moan, "I don't believe it. He did it again!"

"Who and what, Hermione?"

"Here, take a look."

She thrust the paper at Harry who took it and read the front page.

_AZKABAN BREAKOUT – DEATH EATERS RELEASED_

_By Rita Skeeter:_

_In a daring nighttime robbery, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named broke several of his followers out of the Azkaban prison. In an act similar to what happened last year, where the blame was unfairly laid at Sirius Black's feet, the defences were breached, and the guards overpowered._

_The names of those escaped included Lucius Malfoy. Who, despite giving generously to charity, was unveiled earlier this year to be a Death Eater._

_Full story can be seen on pages 4 and 5. _

"Told you it'd happen today, didn't I!"

Harry saw the paleness of Ron's face which clearly sent the message that he had been joking. Harry glanced over towards the Slytherin table and saw the smug look on Malfoy's face, Hermione followed his gaze.

"Oh, he's going to be horrible now. Just ignore him, not all the Slytherin's are bad."

"No I know. Blaise looks thunderstruck. So do a few of the younger students actually."

Harry then spotted Remus coming over to him, "hi Professor. What brings you here, apart from the news?"

Remus smiled grimly before leaning in to prevent unwanted ears picking anything up.

"So you've read it then. We're lucky some people went to the guards' aid. It might have been a complete disaster. Anyway, would you be able to stop by Trent's office after dinner, he needs to discuss something with you."

Harry looked a little apprehensive, and Remus saw this.

"Don't worry. It's nothing bad. It's actually something we'll think you'll enjoy."

Remus smiled then made his way out of the Hall.

* * *

"Hello Harry. Right on time I see" Trent said once Harry had settled himself into one of Trent's chairs.

"First off, I must apologise. Our last chat didn't end all that well. I hope you were able to understand my point of view about not teaching you anything more about sensing auras."

Harry nodded, and Trent looked a little relieved. Then he smiled "that's good. Tell me. What do you do in the mornings before breakfast?"

"Er, not much, unless I schedule Quidditch practice. Why?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to improve your skills. Now that Voldemort has broken into Azkaban, _again_, it's only a matter of time before he strikes. I'm willing to give you some extra training. Just don't tell anyone about it alright. I've spoken with Albus, and he agrees with me on this."

"All right, but what kind of training do you mean?"

Trent's eyes twinkled, and Harry inwardly groaned. He remembered Trent doing that every time they were about to start something difficult in the Spirit Room.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise, Harry. Trust me, you'll like this. Meet me outside the Room of Requirement tomorrow morning at six o'clock. Enjoy dinner tonight."

"What? You're not coming?"

"No Harry. In case you haven't noticed, I have some of your papers to grade."

Trent pointed to the stack of parchment piled on his desk.

"And I'll tell you this. You are extraordinarily gifted when it comes to Defence Against the Dark Arts, but people probably tell you that anyway. Six o'clock, Harry. Don't be late."

Harry nodded and left Trent's office. He made his way to the Great Hall for dinner, where Ron and Hermione asked what Trent wanted. Harry told them they'd just talked about the whole Death Eater escape, and that it was nothing too drastic.

* * *

Harry made his way to the entrance of the Room of Requirement and found Trent waiting for him. He asked Harry how it worked, and he told Trent that you have to walk past the entrance three times thinking about what you need. Trent did this, and a door appeared. They walked inside and Harry was stunned.

He saw an empty road, in the shape of an oval. He briefly wondered if Trent wanted him to start jogging around it before Trent faced him.

"Right, Harry, Remus made me promise to do this. It's about getting you prepared, that's all."

"Prepared for what?" Harry asked somewhat warily.

Trent grinned, and took something out of his pocket.

"A model car? What's that got to do with anything?"

Trent shook his head and replied, "you're sixteen Harry. It's time for you to learn how to drive. I know you're a wizard, but it's still quite useful to know."

Harry looked a bit dubious and said "but…that's just a model, isn't it?"

"Ah no, let me show you."

With that, Trent placed the model on the ground and enlarged it. Once it had reached full size, Harry just stared in admiration, his Uncle's car was _nothing_ compared to this. This car was silver in colour, was about four feet in height, and had only two doors. The car's body was shaped so it would cut through the air with a minimum of fuss, and everything about it just exuded beauty and class.

"Wha…what in Merlin's name is that?" Harry said wide eyed.

Trent beamed, "that, Harry, is my pride and joy. My adopted father was into muggle car racing. He loved it, and it rubbed off on me. I first saw this car in a magazine when I came back to England in 1993. I knew I had to have one, so I went about finding a dealer. You should've seen his face when I told him I'd buy it before he'd finished explaining every minute detail about it!"

Harry was only partly listening "ok, but what is it? I've never seen anything like it."

"It's a Jaguar XJ220. It's one of the most expensive cars muggle money can buy."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"I've already told you! You're sixteen, high time to start learning to drive if I'm not mistaken."

Harry was stunned. "You…you're letting me _drive_ this? It's yours!"

Trent laughed, "yes obviously it's mine. I'm glad you've established that. Nothing will go wrong. I've charmed all the parts so they won't malfunction. The only thing you've got to worry about is changing gears."

"I've seen my Uncle drive before…"

"But _you_ haven't driven before. Trust me, it's much harder than it looks. Here, get in and I'll show you."

Harry got in the car and was even more impressed. The interior was fantastic, soft plush material covered the seats. The dashboard blew his mind. It had dials and buttons everywhere. Trent must have seen Harry's face because he explained,

"When Jaguar made this…_magnificent_ vehicle, they weren't restricted by anything. Basically, they were given free roam on the car, money was no object. But we're not here to see you drool over my car, we're here to teach you to drive. Right, how much do you know about cars? You heard of a thing called a gearbox before?"

Harry nodded "yeah, it's that stick thing in the middle."

"That stick thing is called the gear stick, Harry. See the pattern on the top of the knob? That lets you know which gear the car's in. It's out of gear at present, so start her up."

Harry turned the key, and the engine roared into life.

"Oh. I've just come over all funny! I'll never get tired of that. Ok, now put your left foot on the pedal closest to it."

Harry did as Trent said, then Trent asked him to select first gear. But not to take his foot off the pedal, which Trent said was the clutch. Harry eased the gear stick into the '1' position, and Trent told him to take off the handbrake which he did. The big car very slowly started to roll forward. Harry was then told to gently squeeze his right foot on the pedal on the right, the throttle Trent called it.

"I thought it's an accelerator?"

"This is effectively a racing car, Harry. Call it a throttle. I'll show you why a bit later on" Trent grinned.

Harry did what Trent told him and eased his left foot off the clutch while squeezing the throttle. He felt the car move before it died.

Trent beamed. "Try again, this time give it a bit more throttle."

After another three attempts, Harry had managed to not stall the vehicle. He was driving. And Harry was enjoying himself. It felt a little like flying, except he had to concentrate on when to change gears. He also wasn't going at anything like the speed he could on his Firebolt. They came to a halt after a couple of laps of the oval track and swapped sides.

"Now, let me show you how a Pro does this!"

Trent smirked as he casually flicked the car into first, then peeled away in a blaze of smoke and tyre squeal. Harry was pressed back into his seat as the Jaguar hurtled forwards, Trent grinning stupidly all the time. Harry realised why Trent said that the pedal should be called a throttle. The speed Trent was going at, it was suffocating until Harry got used to it.

Harry almost screamed as Trent came up to the corner and hadn't started to brake yet. No sooner had he thought this, his body was thrown forwards as Trent slammed on the brakes. He steered left, then Harry felt the back end of the car sliding. Trent countered this by turning the wheel to the right, and held the slide for a while before snaking the car back into line. Trent did this repeatedly and Harry felt that even if he wasn't sitting beside him, Trent would be driving like this anyway.

After a little while, they got out of the car. Trent shrunk it, but was still beaming.

"I love that thing. I tell you if I could, I'd marry it. It's just such a blast to drive. It's been ages since I've had the opportunity to take it for a spin. How about some more lessons over Christmas?"

Harry nodded before saying "I think I know why you like to stay on the ground so much. I've never been so terrified and exhilarated at the same time, it's like flying!"

Trent laughed before they both approached the door. Harry stopped and turned to Trent.

"This isn't all you wanted to teach me, is it?"

Trent smiled and said "well no, it's not. Over Christmas, I'd like you to come with me again to the Spirit Room. I'll teach you about the house elves Apparition technique, and also some Dark Arts."

"But I thought you said you'd be teaching us Dark Arts in class."

"I am, but only really basic things. Remember the talk we had at the start of term?"

Harry nodded. He remembered how disappointed Trent had been with him after Harry had battered Malfoy in Duelling class.

"Good. Then you'll remember me saying that even Light wizards delve into the Dark Arts. I think to defeat both me and Voldemort, you'll need to do this. I'll find some books for you if you like. But this goes no further than this room, Harry. No one must find out, especially Draco and his…acquaintances."

Harry nodded and the two of them walked out of the room and made their way to the Hall for breakfast. As they were walking, Harry thought more about the breakouts from Azkaban. He decided to pay Peter another visit, and this time Harry wanted some answers.


	19. Chapter 19 – Astonishing Developments

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

No I don't (nor will I ever) own a Jag XJ220. Seeing as though Trent is somewhat loosely based on me (I don't have a brother, nor am I a wizard duh!), and I love cars, I just thought I'd stick that in. It really is a stunning car, ridiculously expensive but stunning nonetheless.

Could you really tell I was fresh out of ideas when it came to creating something big happen on Halloween? Don't worry, I have something much better in store for Easter!

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Astonishing Developments**

Harry once again was outside Peter's cell, under his invisibility cloak. Peter was still feeling the effects of the stunner Remus had sent him after he'd interrogated him earlier. Harry whispered 'enervate' before saying "hello Peter."

Peter looked around wildly before asking "who said that? Show yourself!"

Harry whipped off his invisibility cloak and drew his wand.

"P…Potter! How did you get in here? What are you even doing here?"

"I'm at Hogwarts, Peter, because I'm in my sixth year. I'm standing here, because I need to talk to you" Harry spoke, his voice full of spite.

"I s'pose you've heard about the breakouts?" Harry spat.

"What are you talking about, Potter?"

"Voldemort broke into Azkaban a few nights ago and got his followers back. The ones we captured in the Ministry last year. But then again, you probably knew all about it."

Peter narrowed his eyes before saying "so what if I did. You can't do anything about it."

Harry took out a small vial from his robes and showed it to Peter.

"Three guesses what this is. The first two don't count" Harry smirked as Peter's eyes grew wide in recognition.

"But…but Veritaserum is a controlled potion! How'd you get your hands on any?" Peter managed to splutter.

"Simple really, Peter. You see, I enrolled in NEWT level potions, and this just happens to be one of those potions we're studying. And before you ask, it does work. I've tested it myself" Harry said before walking up to the cell Peter was standing in.

He tossed the vial to Peter who dropped it deliberately.

Harry rolled his eyes "good thing I put an unbreakable charm on it isn't it, Peter. Drink it, or else."

Peter eyed him warily. "Or else what, Potter. Going to kill me are you" he sneered.

Harry narrowed his eyes before grinning maliciously "or else I'll let Remus do whatever he likes to you."

Peter looked stunned and whispered "you…you wouldn't! Would you?"

"Unless you answer my questions, I will, yes" Harry replied.

Peter uncorked the vial and sniffed it before gulping it down. Harry saw Peter's face slacken, and his eyes becoming unfocussed. Harry smiled.

"What's your full name?"

"Peter Cameron Pettigrew" he answered.

"Date of birth?" Harry asked

"May 16, 1959."

"Why did you join Voldemort?"

"Because he offered me anything I wanted."

"What did you want the most?"

"Power. I wanted to become like my friends; Remus, Sirius and James."

Harry clenched his fists, and asked his last question "are you sorry for what you did to James and Lily?"

"Yes I am. I didn't realise that the Dark Lord would go after my friends like he did. It was stupid of me to not think that he'd torture me until I gave up the Potter's location."

Harry looked shocked, he hadn't been expecting that. He checked the map, and decided that he'd heard enough. He grabbed another vial from his robes and gave it to Peter.

"Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

Peter gulped down the contents, which was the antidote, and his eyes widened when he saw Harry.

"Wh…what did you do to me?"

Harry chuckled "nothing...yet. Goodnight Peter, we'll chat later. Tell anyone about my being here, and I'll let Remus do whatever he likes. Got it? Stupefy."

Peter slumped to the ground and Harry made his way back to Gryffindor tower. Peter had left him with a lot to think about. As Harry drifted off to sleep, the foundation of a plan was stirring in his mind. He still had a couple of aces up his sleeve. Maybe it was time to produce one.

* * *

Harry was sitting in his dorm, thinking more about what Peter had told him, and also about the training Trent wanted to give him. The more Harry thought about it, the more the training made sense. He'd be learning Dark Arts, which Voldemort wouldn't expect. Harry might have an advantage the next time they met.

His mind drifted to the trunk he had grabbed from his vault, the Black Family's one with the books. Harry took out the trunk before enlarging it. It looked old. There was no other word to describe it. The trunk's colour had faded, but was still black. Harry spotted the Black Family crest on the lid, and it smelt of dust and dirt. Harry guessed that it hadn't been used in a very long time. He wondered if Sirius even knew it existed.

Harry cast the unlocking charm at it, and the trunk snapped open. He pulled out a few books, including a pink cook book. This surprised Harry 'what in Merlin's name is _this_ doing here' he thought. Harry explained away the book's presence when he saw some of the cooking 'suggestions'. 'Deep fried werewolf snout' and 'mudblood finger food'. Harry felt his dinner starting to rise in his stomach, and quickly threw the book back in the trunk.

Harry then spotted a book which caught his eye; 'Magical signatures: Everything you'll ever need to know about them'. Harry picked it up and had a quick flip through it. He didn't find any information about changing ones signature, but he did find some information about sensing auras.

Harry rifled through the rest of the books. If Trent wasn't going to teach him, then Harry would do this by himself. He found a few other books that might be interesting. Harry settled back on his bed and started reading.

He read about the process to sense auras. He learnt that to do it properly, he'd have to first distinguish his own aura. To do that, he needed to find it within himself, exactly what it was that led Harry to stun Peter that night in Privet Drive.

Kingsley had told him when he arrived at Grimmauld Place, that Harry had not done that on instinct alone. Harry concluded that he had actually sensed that something was amiss. He didn't know exactly how it happened, so he decided to see if any of the books mentioned anything.

He found a passage in one of his books that described how most magical aura sensing begins from a high emotional state. Harry remembered being agitated when Hedwig came back injured, but he didn't think he was that emotional. But the more Harry thought about it, the more it began to make sense.

Hedwig had been Harry's first true friend he'd ever made. She'd been with him every horrible summer at the Dursley's. Harry also realised that he was quite concerned whenever something happened to her. As Harry thought about this, his mind drifted to the other friend he'd made around the same time; Hagrid.

Harry was startled as he realised he'd been at Hogwarts for nearly two months and hadn't visited him yet. He made a mental note before he started to read, to go and see the half-giant before the first Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a couple of week's time.

Sirius' book mentioned how after you first sense people's power, it becomes easier with practice. He needed to focus on his own energy, similar to what he'd done for Occlumency. Once he had emptied his mind and really concentrated, he could feel something around him, but only just. It slipped away whenever Harry tried to single it out. Trent and Remus hadn't taught him in the Spirit Room about sensing your power, they just taught him how to control and suppress it.

Harry then made a decision that would have consequences that no one could possibly have foreseen. If Trent thought Harry needed to keep his anger in check, so as not to become the next Dark Lord, then he would learn. Harry vowed to make Trent see that he was wrong. He'd learn to control his anger better and also to sense Voldemort's aura.

He decided to read every book possible on the subject. He wanted to master this, and once he did, he then wouldn't go after Voldemort until he was ready. Harry wanted to know everything he could about muggle and magical means of fighting. He knew that Voldemort wouldn't wait for Harry to finish his education before coming after him next. This time, Harry promised he'd be ready. And knowing where Voldemort could be hiding was too good an opportunity to pass up.


	20. Chapter 20 – The Unexpected, Hogsmeade A...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

The rat is back! He does play a quite important role in my story, as you'll eventually find out.

* * *

**Chapter 20 – The Unexpected, Hogsmeade And Holiday's**

Harry made his way to Advanced Defence class after seeing Hagrid. He had told Harry that he was going to be quite busy for the remainder of the year, and he might not get much time to chat like they used to. Harry had told him that he also expected to be busy, but decided to try and see Hagrid sometime after Christmas, just to catch up. The half-giant looked thrilled when Harry told him how it was no excuse that they'd been busy, and Harry wanted to make time to visit his friend.

"Right, if you people are as smart as I think you are then you'll remember me telling you that we'd be covering the Unforgivables today. We'll break up into three groups, that way it'll go quicker."

With that, Trent then duplicated himself and the three of him strode off to separate parts of the classroom. Most of the class was in shock, but they had come to expect surprises with this Professor. After all, he was giving them the chance to learn whatever they wanted. No one could remember the last time a Professor had let that happen.

Harry made his way over to the group who would cover the Killing curse first. Trent started talking "ok, you've all submitted your essays on it, so you should know exactly what you need to do. Mr Finnegan, if you'd like to do the honours."

"On what? I can't very well practice on someone, can I!"

"True, you'll be doing it on this" Trent conjured a jar with a spider in it.

"When you're ready, Seamus. Everyone else, please stand back."

Everyone nodded. Seamus waited then spoke the incantation. A green jet of light burst from his wand and struck the spider rendering it dead.

"Very good! Mr Potter, your turn."

Harry walked up as Trent conjured yet another spider. Harry felt a strange thrill inside him before he also said "Avada Kedavra!"

Nothing happened. Harry tried again, still nothing. He looked over at Trent who was baffled. He asked Harry if he could borrow his wand and tried it. The familiar green light erupted from its tip so Trent gave it back to Harry.

"This is quite interesting. Maybe you can't use the spell Harry. There has been a precedence before, but not since Merlin himself."

The rest of the class went well. Harry was able to cast the other two curses, but he was still miffed at why he couldn't cast the Killing curse. Harry decided to ignore it and worry about it later.

* * *

The first Hogsmeade weekend was fast coming up, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were all looking forward to it. Harry was glad to have a break for a day. Since deciding that he was going to be ready for whatever Voldemort might have for him, Harry had thrown himself into his studies, to the disgust of Ron but delight of Hermione.

Harry was still having a little trouble in sensing his own magical signature. But he had read in a few of Sirius' books that this was the most difficult part of the procedure. Trent had promised him at least two visits to the Spirit Room over the Christmas break to teach him about apparating and the Dark Arts. He had also promised Harry to let him have another go in his car, after Harry pleaded to teach him how to slide the back end out like Trent had done.

The three of them were sitting down in the Hall for dinner, when Professor McGonagall came over to talk to Harry.

"Mr Potter. The Headmaster would like a word with you after dinner."

"What about, Professor?"

McGonagall looked at Harry, and he noticed a tinge of sadness in her eyes before she replied

"It's about recent events. I trust you won't be late"

She walked out of the Hall leaving a thoroughly confused Harry behind.

"What do you reckon that was all about?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "No idea. I wonder if it has to with what happened in Defence class. I might as well go now since I've basically finished. I'll see you two in a bit then."

Hermione and Ron both nodded and Harry set off to Dumbledore's office. He was surprised to see Remus standing outside the office waiting for him. Harry looked up at his face and saw a distinctive wait-until-you-get-inside-before-talking gaze staring him back. If Harry wasn't already curious before, he most certainly would be now. He had no idea what was going on. The only other thing, apart from the Defence class, he could think of was that someone, probably Snape, had found out what Trent had wanted to teach him.

He walked up the stairs and into Dumbledore's office behind Remus and was surprised to see McGonagall and Trent were also present. Harry took the proffered seat opposite Dumbledore, before Trent asked the question Harry was thinking.

"What's all this about, Albus? Why did you insist on meeting us now?"

Dumbledore readjusted his half-moon glasses before answering, "as you know, the first Hogsmeade visit is this weekend. Due to recent events, namely the Azkaban debacle, I think it best if Harry stays at Hogwarts."

Harry was outraged and shot out of his chair. "WHAT! Just because I'm a target, you want me to stay here!"

"Yes, I do."

Remus interrupted "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea."

Trent then voiced his feelings "I agree with Remus and Harry. If Voldemort wants to try something, he will. And if Harry's not there, he'll probably end up attacking anyway!"

"Actually, I tend to agree with my fellow staff members. Potter does have permission to go, and I doubt he finds it fair to deny him this chance to get some fresh air" McGonagall sternly said.

Dumbledore sighed before turning back to Harry.

"The final decision is yours, Harry. Just remember what we discussed at the end of last year" and Harry knew he meant the events that took place after Sirius' untimely demise.

Harry was torn between what he should do. On one hand, he wanted to go with his friends. But on the other, he knew that he could put them in great danger. Dumbledore was giving him the chance for that not to happen this time. He pondered his answer before looking at the Headmaster.

"I…I think I'll stay here then. I don't want to put anyone in unnecessary danger. If you think that my staying here will prevent that sir, then I'll do it."

Everyone looked at him stunned. 'Clearly they didn't expect me to say that' Harry thought, before Dumbledore broke the silence,

"A wise choice, Harry. I hope you will enjoy the weekend despite this."

Harry nodded before making his way from the office. Trent hurried after him and stopped him when he caught Harry up.

"You are getting more mature, Harry. I don't think I've ever met someone who's turned down a chance to visit Hogsmeade during the year. Tell you what, Hogsmeade's all day Saturday right?"

Harry nodded, and Trent carried on "then how about this. Tomorrow night, I'll take you back to the Spirit Room for some early training."

Harry stopped and thought about it. He did want to get more training, but he also wanted to practice his energy sensing. He didn't think he'd get much time to do that in the Spirit Room plus he didn't want anyone to find out, so he made his mind up.

"I'm not sure. I think I'd rather stay here Trent. No offence, but you said you'd take me there in the holiday's anyway. That's only a month away, I can wait until then."

Trent blinked a few times before finding his voice.

"You sure, Harry? It's no problem to take you"

Harry shook his head, "no. I have a fair bit of reading to do anyway. I doubt I'd have enough time to do all that and train as well."

Trent looked thoughtful before answering, "how about this then. We can go to the Spirit Room, and you can do your reading there. I'll help you with anything you have trouble with. You'll get a lot more things done there than here."

Harry had to admit Trent made a good point.

"Ok then. That sounds good. I'll meet you at your office tomorrow night then. What time suits?"

Trent smiled "any time's fine. How about we make it nine in the evening? That way, not too many people will get suspicious."

Harry agreed before heading back to his dorm to catch up with Ron and Hermione. He told them what was going on, and Hermione wasn't too pleased that Harry was getting to spend an extra year learning things, while she was going to Hogsmeade. Harry reminded her that he was only doing this to get his mind off of not being able to go with them. That satisfied her, and Harry spent a little while finishing his essay on the Polyjuice potion for Snape before heading off to bed.

* * *

Harry quickly shoved his gear into his trunk, before shrinking it and making his way to Trent's office. Trent showed him inside and finished packing his things up before turning to Harry.

"Right. You ready to have a little holiday, Harry?"

Harry nodded, so Trent grabbed him and seconds later they were inside a familiar white room. Harry settled into the same room he was in last time and unpacked his things. He made his way to the living room where Trent was trying to find a book to read on the massive bookshelf.

"I never noticed that last time" Harry told him.

The bookshelf was enormous. It reminded Harry of the Hogwarts library, but it had only one shelf, and no restricted section.

"It wasn't here last time. This place is similar to the Room of Requirement, in that it can adjust to what you need. I'm trying to find a Dark Arts book that would be suitable for me to teach you. You can do anything you want Harry. This time will be different to the last one. Merlin, if you wanted to, we could just drive my car the whole time!"

Harry laughed. He did admit to Trent that it wasn't a bad idea, but Harry decided to get stuck into his homework. He also wanted as much privacy as he could while he practiced sensing his magical signature. He thought it best not to bring this topic up with Trent again, as he might become slightly suspicious of Harry.

* * *

They had been there for six months and Harry was enjoying the experience more this time around. Harry had finished all his homework within the first month, and was spending his time between reading Sirius' books and being taught by Trent. He had taught Harry some more martial arts, and several simple Dark Art spells.

"Wow Harry, I'm impressed. You're learning all this real fast. This'll take me much less time than I though it would. In fact, I mightn't need to teach you anything more about the Dark Arts over Christmas."

Harry smiled. He also had to admit he was enjoying this. The Dark Arts weren't as difficult as he had previously thought. Since he was already very efficient in the defence of them, Harry had found it fascinating to see things from the other point of view.

"Well, you'll just have to teach me everything about driving instead. You promised you'd show me how to slide the car like you do."

"Drifting, Harry. It's called drifting. It's also called oversteer, but I won't bore you with a full racing vocabulary lesson. Besides, it'd take far too long to teach you everything about cars. But you're right, I did promise you, didn't I."

With that Trent summoned his model Jaguar, before enlarging it to the correct size. He then took out a racing magazine and flipped to a picture of an oval track. The room then changed into a racing track, identical to the one in Trent's magazine. They then both got in, with Trent behind the wheel. Harry saw him get a wicked look in his eye before he turned to Harry.

"Right, you ready for some fun!"

Harry grinned, and before he could answer, Trent took off and Harry heard the noise of tyre on tarmac before everything became a blur.

* * *

"I don't know Harry, sounds like a waste of time if you ask me."

"C'mon Trent, it'll be great fun!"

Harry was trying to convince Trent to race Harry around the racing track. Trent driving his Jaguar, and Harry on his Firebolt.

"Alright Harry. A three lap sprint. But don't come crying to me after I've trounced you good and proper alright."

Harry smirked "as long as you don't do the same. I think I'll have a butterbeer and come back out to watch you finish."

"I'll make sure to grab you one then for when you land" Trent smiled evilly.

Harry rolled his eyes. Trent had taught him a lot about driving, and Harry had become a half decent driver in his own right. Nowhere near as good as Trent, but not too shabby. Trent had taught him how to control slides, and also do burnouts.

Harry swung his leg over his broom while Trent revved the engine. They looked at each other, before both Harry and Trent set off. Harry accelerated much faster than Trent's car, and had built up a substantial lead. But as the race continued, the Jaguar started to claw back the distance. Harry came around the final corner, and Trent followed soon after, albeit somewhat sideways. Harry crossed the finish line and did a couple of victory loops while Trent sulked back on the ground.

They spent the rest of their time in the Spirit Room doing similar things. Trent had changed the track from an oval to a full road course, complete with inclines and tight corners. Unlike on the oval, Harry had much more trouble getting used to the way the car handled in certain situations.

Trent had gotten the track wet, and Harry couldn't keep the Jaguar in a straight line, until Trent showed him that he had to adjust his driving to suit the conditions. They continued having races, but with Trent in the air, and Harry on the ground. These were much closer, and both had several near misses, but came away unscathed.

Trent had left Harry to his own devices unless Harry came to him to ask for help. This suited Harry just fine. Unfortunately, Harry had hit a bit of a snag with his aura sensing training. He could now easily detect his own magical signature, but couldn't find anything on what he wanted to do. The books he had been reading all discussed how advantageous being able to sense someone's aura would be in duelling situations. Harry wanted to find a way to be able to find out where Voldemort was hiding, not to sense how powerful someone he was going to be duelling against was. But so far, his search had yielded no results, even when he checked on the bookshelf.

Their time drew to a close, and Harry still was unable to find anything out. He hadn't gone through every book of Sirius', but he only had a few left. He decided he'd have to wait until next time they were here to continue his search. Trent had told him that the Apparition classes would start up at the beginning of December, and finish in early February. Harry was looking forward to this, particularly when Trent said he'd still teach Harry the house elf method over Christmas.

They had one last race, with Trent beating Harry and celebrating with some appropriate burnouts, before they packed everything up and waited for the door to appear. Harry asked Trent more about the room, but he just smiled and told Harry that they'd run out of time, and he'll tell him more about it over Christmas. The door materialised, and the two of them walked out of the Spirit Room before arriving back in Trent's office.

Harry made his way to the dorm after bidding his Professor good night. After he'd gotten back to the common room, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all asked him similar questions to the ones they did last time he went. Harry merely told them that he'd gotten in some more fighting, as well as learning to drive. Ron looked amazed and reminded Harry that driving was easy. It was left to Hermione to explain to Ron that ordinary muggle vehicles are much harder to drive than bewitched ones (they didn't fly for starters, or become invisible). Ron had given Harry some sweets from Honeydukes, before the four of them made their way to get some sleep.


	21. Chapter 21 – Christmas Show And Tell

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

The fact that Harry can't use Avada is something I've been toying with for some time. I'd like to think that there are things that Harry is unable to do. Don't worry though, I explain my reasoning…..just not until my sequel!

Oh, and I probably should say this. Please don't, under ANY circumstances, try any of the stunts Trent did in the previous chapter. Driving IS dangerous, regardless of how good you think you may be.

I received a great piece of advice when I was learning to drive; assume everyone else on the road are complete idiots. Do this, and adjust your driving accordingly to be safe. Don't speed, don't show off, and for God's sake, DON'T drink and drive.

I've had my license for around 8 years, and have never got any fines from the Police. I prefer to save my 'idiocy' for my racing sims. That way, when things DO go wrong (and believe me, they do! I've been in a car where the back wheel decided to overtake us. It wasn't a nice feeling either! Nor was it nice when the brakes failed, come to think of it), no one gets hurt, and it's not your own car you have to pay for to repair.

* * *

**Chapter 21 – Christmas Show And Tell**

Harry and his friends had signed up to go home for Christmas. Harry would go to the Burrow with Ron and Ginny, while Hermione went back to her parents. Hermione would spend Christmas day with them, before all of them would go to Grimmauld Place for the rest of the holidays.

Most of the sixth years had decided to take the course in Apparition. It had been going for three weeks, and Harry felt he had learnt a lot about it. Trent had told them the basics of apparating, and told them he'd be taking them to Hogsmeade for a demonstration after the break.

Their first class was disrupted by Peeves, but Trent had performed a similar spell to what Remus had done to the poltergeist in third year. Instead of chewing gum that shot up Peeves' nostril, it was a drink bottle lid. Harry had felt that Peeves had been much more subdued than in previous years, but decided he was still upset about the fact that Fred and George left Hogwarts towards the end of the last school year.

Harry had also received his second vision of the year the night before. All that Harry could remember happening was that Voldemort had found out that Trent had been an Auror. Voldemort did say that he thought the name seemed familiar, but couldn't place it. Voldemort was then told how Trent had been captured by his Death Eaters but escaped. Needless to say, Voldemort was not impressed with the Death Eater who had given him that piece of information. It had been Lucius Malfoy who had been on the receiving end of a Cruciatus curse from Voldemort's wand.

Harry decided to tell Trent about this, and ask whether or not Dumbledore should know. He walked into Trent's office, and found his Professor marking yet more assignments.

"Hey Trent, can I ask you something?"

"Something else, you mean Harry" Trent smiled as he looked up.

"Yeah, that too. Can you remember which Death Eater captured you?"

Trent dropped his quill, his face instantly became much more haunted, and his eyes lost most of their sparkle.

"I don't remember being captured, but I do remember everything once I came to. I was locked in a cold, dark room with no windows. I was feed bread and water once a day. I don't know how long I was there for, but one day I was dragged, blindfolded, into another room and tied down on a chair. Once my blindfold was taken off, I was surrounded by five Death Eaters."

Trent sighed before continuing,

"I was kicked, punched, and had curses thrown at me for a while. Then someone stepped forward, I can still remember her voice. She spoke to me, saying how foolish I was, and that I should join Voldemort. I refused and she put the Cruciatus on me for a while. Then after she lifted the curse, she withdrew my wand and snapped it in front of me."

Trent's eyes narrowed dangerously, "I was so angry, and something just snapped inside of me. I experienced a similar transformation to the one you had at the start of the summer. My bindings snapped off, and I just remember wanting to cause as much pain to everyone in that room, but especially _her_."

Trent stopped, and Harry had to know.

"Do you know who she was?"

Trent looked thoughtful "I'm not sure. I think she said her name was Lestrong or something."

Harry's looked shocked, before narrowing his eyes "Bellatrix Lestrange" he spat.

"Yeah, that's it. You know her?"

Harry nodded.

"She's the one who tortured Neville's parents with the Cruciatus until they became insane. They're currently in St Mungo's."

Trent looked shocked, but Harry wasn't finished.

"She…she's the one who killed Sirius."

Trent just stared blankly at Harry for some time, before saying anything.

"Well. It would seem I have some competition to get revenge on her then, don't I" Trent smiled weakly.

Harry then told him about his vision, and Trent said that he'd tell Dumbledore about it. Harry also asked Trent if he had told the Headmaster the story he had told Remus and himself in the Spirit Room in August. Trent smiled at this, and told Harry that he had informed Dumbledore about it. But that the Headmaster still believed the prophecy Trelawney made at the opening feast was about Harry.

Trent then made sure that Harry remembered that they'd be resuming their training the day after Christmas. Harry nodded and headed back to finish packing his things before heading off tomorrow to the Burrow.

* * *

"C'mon Harry! Presents!"

Harry groaned as Ron whacked him over the head with a pillow. He slowly made his way downstairs, and was shocked at the number of presents underneath the tree. He hurried over and joined Ron in opening his presents.

Harry had gotten another sweater from Mrs. Weasley (this time in navy blue), a box of chocolate frogs and bertie botts beans from Ron and Ginny respectively. Fred and George had given him a sample of their latest work, which had included sweets which made you talk nothing but gibberish for two hours. Harry smiled inwardly as he remembered a similar prank that Remus said he'd done on the rest of the Marauders. Hermione had sent him a book on some of the most difficult charms known, which included the Fidelius and Patronus charms among many others. Remus and Trent had gotten Harry a couple books on duelling.

Harry had given Ron a book about the Chudley Cannons, and he'd already nearly finished it to the amusement of everyone else. Harry gave Ginny a book on Hippogriffs, as he remembered her telling Ron, Hermione and himself that Hagrid would be going over those in her class in the New Year. He gave Mr Weasley some muggle magazines, which he found absolutely fascinating as the pictures didn't move like wizarding ones do. He had also given Mrs Weasley some magazines, but these were cooking ones. She flipped through them saying that some things in them looked quite good.

Once everyone had opened their presents, people started arriving for lunch. Those who came included Remus, Dumbledore, Hermione, Bill and Charlie. Harry thanked Remus for his and Trent's presents, before Dumbledore pulled Harry aside.

"Harry, I believe you'll like this. I hope it serves you well."

He gave Harry a box before returning to the kitchen. Ron urged Harry to open it, so he ripped away the paper and found a pensieve.

"Wow Harry. I knew Dumbledore wanted to get you something, but a pensieve" Remus whistled as he came in to tell the others that lunch was ready.

"What's so special about a pensieve though? All they do is store your memories."

"But they are incredibly difficult to find. Also, because of that, they're quite expensive. All in all, a pensieve is something worth hanging on to."

Harry just nodded and made a note to thank Dumbledore for it during lunch.

* * *

"Remus, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure thing Harry, just let me finish cleaning up alright?"

Harry nodded while Molly, Remus and Bill tidied up the kitchen after the Christmas feast just a few hours before. Once they'd finished, Remus turned to Harry and they walked into the living room.

"What's on your mind?"

"Is there somewhere private we can go? I don't want anyone else to know. Well, not yet anyway."

Remus looked puzzled for a moment before replying, "yeah, we could go up to the attic and put up a few charms. That should give us some privacy."

After Harry had grabbed the pensieve that Dumbledore gave him for Christmas, they made their way up the stairs to the attic which had been cleaned out, 'probably by Mrs. Weasley' Harry thought, before Remus finished putting up some imperturbable and silencing charms.

"All right. So what's on your mind, and why do we need all these precautions?"

"I've given this a lot of thought, and I need to tell someone about the prophecy."

Remus looked shocked and said "I'm flattered that you came to me Harry. But I must ask, why me? Why don't you tell Ron or Hermione?"

Harry looked somewhat frustrated before replying, "because I know exactly how they'd react to this. Ron would get all huffy about it, saying I've been keeping secrets from him. Either that or he'd tell me how 'wicked' it is. And Hermione? She'd say how terrible I must be feeling and wouldn't leave me alone for the rest of my life, which mightn't be that long actually."

Harry sighed, "Mr and Mrs Weasley would freak out. And Dumbledore already knows, heck it was he who told me."

"You don't have to tell me, Harry."

Harry looked up at Remus and said "I…I just need someone to listen to me. And not to tell me how to run my life for a change. I have to tell someone this, I need to. You'll understand after."

Remus conjured up a couple of chairs and sat down, with Harry following suit.

"If you're going to tell me, why'd you bring your pensieve?"

"This won't exactly be easy for me to say Remus. I think it'll be better to just show you"

Remus nodded and Harry proceeded to concentrate on the memory of the discussion he had with Dumbledore that night, about Sirius and the prophecy. He decided to show Remus the whole scene, including the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and Harry trashing Dumbledore's office. Once he had the memory, he touched his forehead with his wand. A silver thread stretched from Harry's forehead and he carefully placed the thread into the pensieve.

"Ok, just don't say anything until we come back out, alright?"

Remus nodded and they both were sucked into Harry's memory. Remus looked horrified as he saw Voldemort in the flesh for the first time. He was amazed when the memory Harry threw Voldemort out of his mind. He was somewhat shocked when Harry began his rant at Dumbledore, and felt like cheering when the memory Harry defended Sirius so stoutly. Remus stood transfixed when Sybill Trelawney's figure rose out of Dumbledore's pensieve and told the prophecy, and also when Dumbledore explained it to the memory Harry.

Once they both emerged from the memory, Remus was speechless. 'How can one person have that much pressure on them' he thought incredulously before Harry broke the silence.

"Now do you understand why I don't want to tell Hermione or Ron yet?"

Remus nodded, and managed to croak out "I…I'm sorry, Harry. I never realised. How can you possibly cope with knowing that?"

Harry shrugged, "I've just accepted it, Remus. I was hoping you'd be able to help me understand it better though."

Remus had recovered his voice and managed a weak smile.

"The first part is straight forward. You were born at the end of July, and James and Lily had defied Voldemort three times before you were born."

Harry picked up where Remus stopped "he marked me with my scar, and Dumbledore told me that he thinks the power I have is love. That's how I was able to throw Voldemort out of my mind. I was thinking about Sirius at the time."

Remus nodded and continued "the last part is somewhat more complicated. 'Neither can live while the other survives'. Both of you are currently alive, so I don't see what it's talking about."

Harry looked at Remus and said "yeah, I know. That's the part that's got me stumped. The bit before it I understand, kill or be killed."

Remus looked thoughtful for a while before choosing his words carefully.

"You may be right…but look at it this way. It says 'either must die at the hand of the other'. What if 'the other' is Neville? Dumbledore did say that the prophecy could have applied to him until Voldemort chose you."

Harry stared at Remus, before shaking his head. "I don't think so Remus. I never thought about it like that before, but Dumbledore was pretty adamant that it means either I kill Voldemort, or he kills me."

Remus shrugged but nonetheless agreed anyway.

"Ok, so let's assume that it is down to you and Voldemort. I've thought about the last bit again, and tell me what you think about this. Neither of you will have total control over your lives until the other is dead."

Harry looked confused, "could you say that again?"

Remus smiled, but explained further. "Well, what I mean is that Voldemort seems intent on trying to kill you, right?"

Harry nodded, and Remus continued "and you're constantly looking over your shoulder, waiting for his next attack. Both of you aren't leading very fulfilling lives are you?"

Harry just blinked several times before answering.

"That…you're right. How'd you come up with that?"

Remus shrugged but smiled again at Harry.

"Well, I didn't read all those books at Hogwarts for fun, Harry. I like to look at things in several ways before coming up with an answer."

Harry just shook his head trying to make sense of what Remus had said.

"Ok then. What about the other prophecy though. The one Trelawney made at the feast."

"Well, I thought we agreed that it's talking about Trent, not you. And before you ask, yes Trent has told Dumbledore the same thing he's told us. But Albus still believes that it's talking about you, because Trent's always said that he doesn't want to face Voldemort."

"Ok, but like you said, we think it is about Trent. So that means that he'll be killed right? I mean, in the end, I have to face Voldemort…"

"But Trent said that you'd have to kill them both. I don't know, Harry…this seems more complicated than the other prophecy. Let's just take it at face value. Either it's talking about Trent or you facing Voldemort, and that only one will come out alive.

"You should ask Trent about getting some more training in. You've got a week before we have to go back to Hogwarts, so you might get a couple years worth in the Spirit and Time Room. Besides, he might show you how to apparate like the house elves do, it'll be much quicker to teach there, than when you go back to school."

Harry told him Trent was already going to do this starting tomorrow. The two of them then removed the charms from the room and made their way back downstairs.

Tomorrow, Harry would resume his training with Trent. This time he'd be teaching Harry about how the house elves apparate around Hogwarts.


	22. Chapter 22 – Secrets Of The Room Of Spir...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I'd like to think Harry will tell someone about the prophecy. I personally can't see any reason why he wouldn't choose Remus first; he's smart, Harry trusts him, and let's face it, he's the last link to his parents, save for Peter of course (no, I haven't forgotten about him yet!). So why wouldn't he choose him?

Trent's transformation is explained in this chapter. I do know I've taken the whole transformation from Dragonball. I actually got the idea from someone's author page. They asked if it was just them, or did Harry's hair fly up when he shouted "Expecto Patronum" in the movie. I just took it a bit further and combined it with the most relaxing cartoon I watch.

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Secrets Of The Room Of Spirit And Time**

Harry and Trent left early the next morning. Trent had told Harry that they'd mainly be concentrating on the house elf way of apparating, and also working on his wandless magic.

"Right Harry, apparating the house elf way is rather more complicated than the other methods of apparating. First of all, house elves have a completely different way of doing magic than the rest of us. I'm sure you would have noticed this in Dobby's classes."

Harry nodded.

"Good, that'll save us some time. You see, house elves can sense the wards surrounding their owner's premises, in our case Hogwarts, and are able to manipulate their energy to match in with that of the wards. Once they've done this, they're free to roam anywhere around Hogwarts because they are basically part of the castle. Does that make sense?"

"Sort of, you mean you _can_ change you magical signature. You said you didn't know how to!" Harry started.

"No, I'm saying they can only do it for as long as it takes to apparate, a few seconds at the most. The trick is to be able to sense the wards. There's an ancient spell that can be used to do this, but hardly anyone knows it."

"Why not, it sounds quite useful."

"It's a Dark spell, Harry. In fact, I think it's only written down in one book, and I just happen to be the one in possession of it" Trent grinned.

"The incantation for the spell is 'Perceivio Divisiona'. You only need to cast it once to be able to detect which wards are around you at any time. But I'll warn you. It is extremely painful, and you'll probably be out of it for a couple days while your body gets used to it. That's why it's a Dark Arts spell."

Harry nodded then said "well what are you waiting for, hurry up and cast it on me then."

Trent smiled "actually, Harry, you have to cast it on yourself. Just don't say I didn't warn you, alright?"

"Fine, Perceivio Divisiona. Right, got it. Here goes nothing."

Harry pointed his wand at himself before saying the spell.

A purple glow encompassed Harry's body, before fading. Harry then felt pain beyond anything he'd ever experienced. It was worse than being hit with the Cruciatus curse, worse even than when Voldemort had tried to possess him at the Ministry. It felt like someone was using Harry's body for storing hot knives. He could feel them cutting into his arms, his legs, his eyes, everywhere. Harry screamed in agony for what felt like an eternity before blacking out.

When Harry opened his eyes, he took time before he adjusted to his surroundings. He was lying on a bed with someone standing over him. Harry thought it was Trent but couldn't make him out. He was about to reach for his glasses, when Trent stopped him.

"No Harry, don't move. At least not yet anyway. You need to let your body readjust first."

"But my glasses…" Harry began to croak.

"Are on your face" Trent finished.

"You just need a bit of time to focus. Merlin, you gave me a fright! I was only out for two days when I did it."

"How long have I been out then?" Harry asked, his voice still scratchy.

"About a week, six days to be exact."

"Six days!" Harry said incredulously.

Trent nodded before asking "so, how do you feel? I did tell you it would hurt."

Harry tried to sit up, but immediately regretted it when his body screamed in protest. He slumped back down on the bed and smiled weakly.

"I feel like a herd of Hippogriffs just trampled over me, then turned around and did it again."

"That sounds about right. I did tell you it was painful though" Trent reminded him

"Yes, and you continue to do so! You weren't kidding either."

"It'll wear off after a few hours now that you're awake. I'll go and get something for you to eat when you feel up to it."

Harry nodded slowly, and Trent walked out of the room. About three hours later, Harry was able to see everything clearly, and his body only ached a little. He got up and made his way to where Trent was currently reading a book. Harry briefly wondered what is was, when without looking up, Trent spoke,

"Food's in the kitchen, Harry just help yourself. Yes, this is the book I was telling you about. I'm just rereading it to see if it mentions anything about changing one's magical signature."

Harry sighed "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?" Trent asked casually.

"You know darn well what I'm talking about! It's not fair that you and Remus can read minds…"

"Nor is it fair that you can speak parseltongue, but I don't complain. Besides, we did try to teach you, but you never got the hang of it. Not everyone can do it Harry. Remus and myself were both fortunate that we do have this ability."

Harry muttered something along the lines of "yes, very fortunate" under his breath while he made his way into the kitchen. He grinned when Trent said "hey, I heard that!"

* * *

Their second year of training had begun, with Trent and Harry not exiting when the door became visible. Trent had explained to Harry how that if you miss the time frame to leave, you have to spend another year in it.

Harry was able to apparate effectively, even the house elf way. Trent had told Harry that once he was able to qualify for his exam, that he'd have no problems passing it at all. Incredibly, the book that Trent had told him which housed the spell used, also had information in it about how to sense other people's magical aura. Harry had asked Trent if he could read the book, saying that it was Trent himself who had suggested Harry brush up on Dark Art spells. Trent relented, and Harry proceeded to glean as much out of it as he could.

It wasn't much, but it was a start. Harry hadn't yet checked the remaining books in Sirius' old trunk. But now he had an idea of what to look for, he felt confident of finding exactly what he needed to be able to sense Voldemort's energy accurately.

Trent himself was truly stunned at the progress Harry had made. His fighting techniques had improved immensely, as had his sword handling. Trent had even given Harry a twin set of long swords, for his own use and to practice with. Harry's magical energy had increased to a staggering nineteen million when Harry released everything he had.

In fact, Harry had forced Trent to raise his own levels substantially. He was currently able to peak his power at twenty-eight million. Trent had made sure not to fully transform as Harry still hadn't managed it yet, but Harry insisted on trying to fight him when they were both at full power.

The two of them were taking a well earned break after yet another gruelling sparring session. Trent looked over at Harry and made a decision.

"Harry, I think it's time I told you more about this place."

"What do you mean? You and Remus both told me that it's similar to the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts."

"That's true, but no one knows exactly where this room is located. Except for me of course."

"What do you mean? How'd you come across it anyway?"

"That's what I'm going to tell you. You know I spent several years here before coming back to England right?"

Harry nodded, and Trent carried on,

"What I didn't tell you is that Dumbledore himself was the one who trained me here. He knows about this place, but can't come here anymore."

"Why not?"

"He's used up his quota. You see, each person that visits this place can only do so twenty-five times. Dumbledore knew this and passed on the information to me before he lost the knowledge of this room's existence."

Harry must have looked confused because Trent sighed before explaining,

"You'll know all this in a little while, but basically if he hadn't told me about this place, no one would be able to find it. As soon as your twenty-five years are up in here, you automatically lose all knowledge of this place. But if you pass on the knowledge, you'll still know the room exists, just not where it's located."

"Ok, you've lost me completely now" Harry said.

Trent smiled lightly before answering "don't worry you'll soon know what I mean. My time here is nearly over therefore I need to pass on its secrets. If I don't, then no one will be able to access this room because I'm the only one who knows where it is. I told you that if you spend twenty-five years here and don't tell anyone, you lose all knowledge of this place right."

"Yeah, you did mention that" Harry agreed.

"Ok. Basically, the true knowledge of this place is kind of like an advanced Fidelius charm. Except that once the secret keeper passes on the location, that person also passes on the role of being secret keeper."

"Right, I understand that, but what has that got to do with you telling me this?"

Trent rolled his eyes before answering "Harry, that knowledge must be passed on willingly. No one can force it out of you. I'm telling you this because my time will be finished the next time we walk out the door. I've chosen you to pass this knowledge onto."

"Oh" was all Harry could say.

Trent put his head in his hands "are you normally this clueless, Harry? You have less of your mother in you than I thought" he teased.

"Alright, alright, knock it off. So you're going to pass on all the secrets of this place to me. Fine I understand that. But why me and not Remus?"

"Because I think you'll be better able to make use of it than he will. Don't get me wrong, Remus is a great guy, but this is my choice, and I've made it. You can still bring Remus here and practice with him, or anyone else for that matter. Well, except for me and Albus."

"But how will I remember all the stuff about this place. What if I forget something?"

"You won't. Once the knowledge is passed to you, it becomes second nature. You'll be able to recall anything about it just as easily as you can walk and talk."

With that, Trent moved over to where Harry was sitting, and gave him a folded piece of parchment.

"Once you read that, it'll vanish and the process will be complete."

Harry took the parchment, and watched as Trent walked slowly back towards his room. Harry opened the parchment and stared at the words Trent had written on it.

_The Room of Spirit and Time is located at the Lookout._

As soon as Harry had finished reading it, the parchment caught fire and seconds later, only a very fine ash was all that remained. Instantly, Harry's brain was flooded with new knowledge about the room. He knew exactly how to locate and access it, how to prepare it for training, and numerous other things.

Harry was surprised with the limits the room possessed. Trent and Remus had told him how it was like the Room of Requirement, but that was only the beginning. The room didn't instantly turn into anything you wanted it to, like the one at Hogwarts. You had to know exactly what you wanted from it, every detail, no matter how insignificant it seemed.

Harry was slightly confused as he'd remembered Trent turning the room into a racing track, but then remembered that Trent had a magazine with him. The magazine must have shown the full details of the track, so Trent was able to call on the room to morph into it.

That was what Trent and Remus had meant when they told Harry how they had to prepare the room for his training. It was able to contain any books you required though, like the Room of Requirement. But it could only do that if you knew exactly what subject you wanted to study.

It also differed in the complexity of it. Unlike the Room of Requirement, only one person truly knows of the room's location. No one can enter it without that person being there. Harry also knew that wherever you decided to come to the room from, that was the place you return to once you walk out of it.

Harry looked back and saw that Trent had stopped walking and was facing Harry.

"Thank you, Harry, for everything. You truly are a remarkable wizard."

Then he walked away again and shut his door, leaving a somewhat overwhelmed Harry in his wake.

* * *

Harry had managed to grasp the concept of wandless magic now. It felt so different to anything Harry had done before. He had to imagine the wand movements in his mind, and direct his energy into what spell he wanted to recreate. It had taken Harry a long time to manage this, but Trent said it had taken him far longer.

He couldn't quite channel his power into any strong spells, but he was able to do some first year spells, like levitation. Trent had told Harry that Dobby should be able to help Harry with that, now that he had gotten the hang of how to concentrate properly.

Harry and Trent had just finished another duel, with Trent winning as Harry still insisted on fighting Trent when both were at full power. They were sitting around with all their gear waiting for the door to appear so they could go back to the Burrow. Trent was telling Harry about all the things he could remember Dumbledore teaching him in this room, and how sad he was to be leaving it for good.

Harry had told him that at least he'd be able to remember his time here, and if he'd not passed the secrets onto Harry, he wouldn't even have his memories. Trent agreed, but said that it still pained him to leave. Harry then voiced a question he'd been thinking over for quite some time.

"Why can't I transform like you yet? You say I've got enough power, so why is my glow still yellow and not gold?"

"Well Harry, to complete the transformation, you need two things. The first is to have enough power and physical strength for your body to cope with it. Both you and Remus have enough power to handle the transformation. However, you need something else to happen. Something to trigger it off."

Harry waited for Trent to continue, but found he didn't elaborate.

"What's the trigger then?"

Trent sighed before answering Harry's question.

"It's different for everyone. Mine was when those Death Eaters snapped my wand in front of me twenty years ago. But that only triggered my first transformation, my glow was only white."

"Like what I did when I got to Grimmauld Place?"

Trent nodded and picked up where he left off.

"Yeah. Great anger or frustration, usually both actually, causes that first transformation. After that, it gets a little more complicated. Something momentous has to happen for you to fully transform. I was actually being taught by Dumbledore in here when it happened for me. Albus was telling me I had to experience enormous rage to trigger the final transformation. He was trying to help me by getting me to imagine all these horrible situations."

"So which one worked then?" Harry asked a little apprehensively

Trent shrugged, "in the end, it was quite simple. He just told me to think about what I would feel if Voldemort hunted down all my friends, and killed them in front of my own eyes. I…it's hard to explain, Harry. I just lost it. I felt something slipping in my mind. It was like a dam had burst. I remember being flooded by energy. It was incredible."

"Can Dumbledore do it too? Why won't something like that work on me?"

Trent sighed, "no, Albus hasn't got enough physical strength to handle the transformation anymore. As for you, I don't know. We've tried though. Both me and Remus have teased and taunted you, but you must need something more. Remus can't do it either, so don't get too down on yourself. You're still the second most powerful wizard in the world after all."

Harry smiled, and then noticed that the door had appeared. Trent saw this too because he got up, and motioned for Harry to follow him. Trent took one last look around the Spirit Room he'd come to think as home, before disappearing from it for the final time.


	23. Chapter 23 – An Unlikely Compromise

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Yes, I am aware of a discrepancy in my story regarding Trent's age. In chapter….9 I think, I say he's really 46, but is a 33 year old in a 65 year olds body. This doesn't fit in with the whole '25 year maximum' thing, so I shall try to explain it (better get a drink, this could take a while!).

Trent really is 46 ('born' in August 1950, and my story takes place in 1996-97). In chapter 9, he hadn't had his birthday yet so he's still 45. He also had used the Spirit Room for 21 years at that time, so that's takes his age up to 66. He spent, I think I said, 10 years in a coma, so he's back to 56 (I'm working on the principle that you wouldn't age much if you're in a coma. I wouldn't have any idea if this is true, nor do I really want to find out!).

So take the 21 years from 56 and you're left with someone in their mid-thirties (so he's 35, not 33. It's not that critical, trust me). Also the fact you hardly age inside the room, would make it look like he's around Remus' age anyway.

I also hope you got what I was trying to say about the 'guardian' passing on all the knowledge to the one they choose. Sorry if it was a little deep, but I did try to explain it as best I could.

Hope that straightens out some questions you may have had about that little piece of info, on with the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 23 – An Unlikely Compromise**

Harry and Trent had arrived back at an empty Burrow. Harry remembered that this was because everyone else was at Grimmauld Place. The two of them apparated near houses number eleven and thirteen, Trent bade him farewell and apparated back to Hogwarts before Harry thought about number twelve. The house squeezed in between the other two, and Harry quickly made his way inside.

No one else was up yet, and Harry guessed this was because it was only seven in the morning. Harry helped himself to some breakfast and had just settled down to eat his cereal and toast when Remus came stumbling into the kitchen.

"Morning H…Ha…Harry" he yawned.

"Rough night, Remus?" Harry laughed.

He glared at Harry before answering,

"You could say that. It was full moon last night. Despite Trent's cure, I still feel extremely tired the morning after" he yawned again, despite Harry's chuckles.

"Plus we had an Order meeting. Professors Flitwick and Vector have decided to join. So it was basically an introductory meeting."

"I see. Hey Remus, could you do me a favour please?"

"Sure, what is it, Harry?"

"Could I have the other mirror that Sirius gave you?"

Remus arched one of his eyebrows before replying "why? What do you need it for?"

"I'd like to give it to Dumbledore. I think it would be good if he and I had a direct link between us. That way I can tell him of any visions I have straight away. And I want to thank him again for the pensieve."

Remus stifled a yawn and looked thoughtful for a while before nodding.

"Ok Harry, that's not a bad idea to tell you the truth. It's up in my room. I'll go and get it later for you."

"Thanks Remus."

Remus then asked Harry how his training had went. Harry told him of the last three visits. How Trent taught him to drive, and about apparating like the house elves do. Remus was stunned when Harry said his power level was nineteen million. He was also impressed when Harry had told him about his improvement in wandless magic.

By that time, everyone else had come down for breakfast, and Harry's friends immediately accosted him. He gave them a little demonstration by lifting his empty cereal bowl in the air before gently bringing it back down to the table. Hermione and Remus looked the most amazed, but everyone else was too busy asking Harry to do something else. He told them that he didn't know how to do anything else yet, and that he wasn't that far advanced. Harry eventually made his way up to his and Ron's room where he unloaded his trunks and other items.

True to his word, Remus came by later that day and gave Harry the other mirror. Harry thanked him again, before putting it with its partner. He turned his attention back to Sirius' books. He only had four more books to read, and he still hadn't found anything about correctly identifying anyone's magical signature.

* * *

The break from school ended far too quickly, and it was time for the students and Remus to head back to Hogwarts. Harry had only managed to finish one extra book, and it didn't have anything useful in it. He threw everything in the trunks, and then shrunk everything so he could carry them around more easily. The train ride back was uneventful, and before long, everyone had settled back into the school routine.

The first thing Harry did when he got back was visit Hagrid. Hermione and Ron had come with him and they had quite a long chat about how things had been going for each other. Hagrid told them how Grawp had been killed by the centaurs that night when Sirius had died. Harry and Hermione both apologised profusely for it, but Hagrid didn't blame them.

Hagrid had said how it might have been a blessing, as Grawp didn't seem to grasp the concepts of behaviour like he himself had. Harry pointed out that this was because Hagrid had grown up around people, and was therefore used to their behaviour.

Harry and his friends had found out that Hagrid had not been sent by Dumbledore to try and get more giants to join in the fight against Voldemort. Hagrid had told them that he hadn't been asked to, so he just stayed around Hogwarts for the summer. He listened in rapt silence as Harry had told him of some of the things he'd learnt during his training in the Spirit Room.

The three of them bade Hagrid goodbye, and Harry had felt glad that he'd talked to the man who had rescued him from the Dursley's and told of him being a wizard some six years before. Harry knew he had a lot to thank Hagrid for, and doubted he'd be able to pay him back.

* * *

The Apparition classes had nearly finished, with Trent allowing the students to apparate short distances to get a feel for it. Harry and his friends felt it had been useful, and they couldn't wait until they were seventeen so they could take the test to be able to apparate legally.

Harry was in the common room doing another essay for potions. This one was on the Wolfsbane Potion, which Snape had decided to get the class to start brewing next week. He was in the middle of describing its effects on the werewolf, when his mind drifted to Remus, and then to the conversation he'd had with Peter.

It had been just over two months since Harry's visit. He was mulling over the outline of a plan that had taken a clearer shape since that night. Specifically when Peter, under the influence of Veritaserum, said he was sorry for betraying Harry's parents.

Ron and Hermione were becoming concerned that Harry was bottling things up inside him. But Harry shrugged off those suggestions by saying he was really worried about Voldemort now that he'd managed to break his followers out of Azkaban and had some time to come up with a new plan of attack.

It wasn't far from the truth. He was concerned about it, but it wasn't at the very forefront of his mind. Harry still had another vial of both Veritaserum and its antidote. He decided to use them to find out if Peter knew of Voldemort's whereabouts. He would then proceed to see what Peter was willing to do to repay Harry for not letting Sirius and Remus kill him at the end of Harry's third year.

That was where the plan ended. Harry couldn't think of anything to do if he managed to get anything useful out of Peter. His thoughts strayed to him being able to sense people's auras. He'd read in several of Sirius' old Dark Arts books that there were several ways to do so, but Harry hadn't yet found anything that looked like what he needed.

Those books that did have information on how to sense a person's magical aura, mainly focussed on when being in duelling situations. What Harry needed was to correctly identify Voldemort's aura. Then be able to home in on it to find out exactly where he was. Harry needed some idea of where to start his search. And for that, Harry needed Peter's help.

Harry also now had both of Sirius' mirrors. He remembered asking Remus for the other one over Christmas. How he explained to Remus that it would be useful for both he and Dumbledore to have them in case he had any more visions. Remus had agreed with him and given Harry his mirror to give to Dumbledore.

The trouble was that the more Harry thought about it, the more he felt it would be better if he gave one of the mirrors to Peter. He'd have to be able to make sure that no one else could find it. Otherwise Remus would know he'd been visiting Peter, and Harry would be in serious trouble.

Harry also had to see if Peter was willing to work with him. Peter had managed to keep Harry's visit quiet, but Harry knew that it was only due to Dumbledore's insistence and hadn't given Peter a dose of Veritaserum yet. Harry thought that Snape might have enjoyed torturing Peter more than getting the truth out of him anyway. He decided to pay Peter a visit tomorrow night and see what he could come up with before going to sleep after once again raising his mental shields to prevent Voldemort trying anything like last year.

* * *

Remus sat down at the staff table, thinking about what Peter had said last night about being sorry for what he'd done to James and Lily. He was lost in his thoughts before Trent shook him back to reality.

"What, Trent" Remus snapped.

Trent looked taken aback "jeez Remus, don't bite my head off or anything…"

"If I'd wanted to bite your head off, it'd be gone" Remus growled.

"Fine, I was going to ask why you're still sitting there when breakfast finished ten minutes ago, and you have to help me teach a class in a further twenty minutes. But if you're going to act like a git, then fine. I'll just leave you alone for a while."

Remus sighed, "it's nothing, Trent. I'm just a little worked up about something that happened last night."

Trent sat back down and waited for Remus to continue.

"I had a chat with Peter, and he told me that he was sorry about what he'd done."

"And you believe him?"

"Merlin, no! He said that Voldemort forced James and Lily's location from him, and he had no clue what he was getting himself into."

"Let me guess. Dumbledore's not letting you use Veritaserum to see if he's telling the truth."

Remus nodded, and Trent added "are you going to tell Harry? He'll want to know."

"Yeah, great idea. I can see it now. 'Hi Harry, how are you? Did you know that Peter's here at Hogwarts and he's sorry for killing your parents?' I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear it."

Trent just shook his head, "sarcasm doesn't suit you, Remus. I think you underestimate Harry. He's more than capable of making his own mind up about it."

Remus sighed "you might be right. I'll tell him tomorrow after class."

Trent nodded then stood up and looked at Remus.

"Well? Are you coming or not? We've got seventh years to teach."

Remus nodded before getting up himself. The two of them then walked out of the Hall.

* * *

Harry finished dinner and waited for Ron to go on his Prefect patrol before taking out the Marauder's map again to check if it was safe for him to visit Peter. Thankfully, no one was around, and Harry grabbed the map and his invisibility cloak, before deciding to try out the new apparition technique Trent had taught him.

Harry closed his eyes and focused on the wards surrounding Hogwarts. He could feel the swirling energies that prevented normal apparition and realised for the first time exactly how well Hogwarts was protected. Harry felt his energy changing to match that of the wards. He then concentrated on the room where Peter was being held.

The next moment, Harry heard a gasp, and his eyes shot open. He saw Peter staring at him.

"How...that…that's impossible! They say no one can apparate on Hogwarts grounds!"

Harry smiled. "Obviously, _they_ are idiots then" he replied, before looking Peter squarely in the eye.

"I want to know. What lengths would you go to, to repay your debt to me Peter?"

Peter stood in silence for a while before answering,

"I don't know, Harry. I've never owed anyone a life debt before."

"Have you told Remus how terrible you felt after betraying them?"

Peter looked at his feet before nodding "I did. I told him last night. I don't think he believed me though."

Harry understood. Remus could be nearly as stubborn as Ron when he wanted to be. But he was confused why this hadn't been included in the Daily Prophet article. He asked Peter, who told him that they hadn't asked him. Veritaserum only allows you to answer questions truthfully. As they only asked him if he'd betrayed Lily and James, the fact he'd been forced to didn't come into the equation.

Harry nodded in understanding before explaining his plan.

"Alright then, don't worry about Remus. I have a little deal for you"

Peter snapped his head up at the mention of the word 'deal'.

Harry continued "do you know if they're planning on moving you anytime soon?"

Peter looked thoughtful before saying "no, I don't think so. No one's said anything that I could hear. Why? What have you got in mind?"

Harry pulled out Sirius' mirror and Peter's eyes widened in recognition

"Is that…"

"Yes, it's one of the mirrors Sirius and my Dad used to use when they were in separate detentions. Stand back, I'm going to try to see if I can loosen a few of those floor bricks so you can hide it there."

Peter moved to the back of his cell and watched as Harry slowly managed to free some of the bricks from their bindings. Peter removed four bricks before carefully placing the mirror in the newly created hole.

Harry then asked Peter for the bricks. He proceeded to shrink them in depth, so as not to alert anyone that they were loose. Harry also lightened them, so to not damage the mirror in any way, before giving them back to Peter who placed the bricks carefully on top of the mirror.

"Why are you doing this, Harry? Surely you must hate me for what I've done?"

"I do. I don't think I'll ever truly forgive you. But at least I know you didn't give them up freely. And I want to know the person my Dad considered to be his friend. Besides, I'm not doing this for fun, Peter. I want something from you."

Peter grimaced "I was afraid of that. I don't have anything to give you, Harry."

"I want to know all of Voldemort's hideouts. Well, all the ones you know of anyway."

Peter looked stunned before answering "what? I haven't told the others, so what makes you think I'll tell you?"

Harry withdrew a vial from his robes. "Because they didn't have this. If you don't tell me, I'll make you take it again. But this time, I don't have the antidote."

Harry knew this was a lie, but hoped Peter didn't call his bluff. He wasn't disappointed.

"Ok, fine. I'll tell you. But he keeps moving around, so I won't be able to tell you which one he's currently using. And I'll only tell you if you promise to help me get out of here."

Harry thought over this for a while before answering "That's fine. I expected something like that anyway. As long as you don't go back to serving Voldemort."

Peter agreed, and then listed twenty-three places (including Malfoy Manor and Riddle Manor) which Harry copied down on a piece of parchment. After that, Harry outlined his plan thus far. To say that Peter was surprised would be an understatement. Peter thought Harry was joking at first when he told him that he was intending on going after him. But he quickly changed his tune when Harry asked him for any ideas into sensing Voldemort's energy signal. Peter didn't know that it was even possible to do that, and Harry cursed before dropping the matter.

Harry got up and was about to go when Peter stopped him.

"Harry, why did you give me Sirius' mirror? It doesn't do anything by itself."

"No, but it will with this" and Harry withdrew the other mirror. The very one Sirius had given him the Christmas before he died.

"This way, I don't have to risk being caught down here. I have my ways of knowing when you're not being guarded. I put an additional charm on both mirrors. You'll hear a faint buzz coming from it. Let me show you"

He held up his mirror and spoke Peter's name clearly. The lightened bricks that Peter and Harry had hidden the other mirror beneath started to vibrate, and a low buzzing noise could be heard.

Peter was impressed "you've really thought this through, haven't you."

Harry ran his hand through his messy black hair "well, yeah. Anyway, I'd better be going. I'll talk to you later. Bye Peter."

With that, Harry once again concentrated on the Hogwarts wards and apparated back to his dorm.


	24. Chapter 24 – Like Father Like Son

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I like to think there were other reasons, apart from being able to detect a bit of Voldemort, why the Sorting Hat wanted to place Harry in Slytherin. I like the idea of Harry being rather cunning at times. He is the son (and Godson!) of a Marauder after all!

* * *

**Chapter 24 – Like Father Like Son**

The bell had sounded and Harry was making his way to the door when Remus spoke.

"Harry, can I see you for a moment please?"

Harry nodded and made his way back to the stage where Remus and Trent were.

"What is it, Professor?"

"It's Remus out of class, Harry. I need to tell you something."

Harry was confused, but nodded anyway. Remus then put up a silencing charm before turning to Harry.

"It's about Peter."

Harry froze. He immediately threw up his mental barriers so Remus wouldn't know that Harry had been visiting Peter. 'He hasn't found out I know he's here, has he?' Harry thought, before Remus continued,

"He's here at Hogwarts, Harry. Has been since the start of the year. I've chatted with him on several occasions. Two nights ago, he told me something…shocking. I'm going to pay him another visit later tonight. I'd like you to come with me."

Harry looked stunned.

"You…you want me to visit that…traitor?" he spat out.

"I do. Please, do this for me. And for Sirius, and your parents" Remus pleaded.

Harry narrowed his eyes, "fine. I can't believe you haven't told me he's here before now."

"I'm sorry, but Dumbledore didn't want anyone knowing."

Harry bit his lip. He knew Peter hadn't told anyone about Harry visiting him, and felt that what Remus was talking about was the same thing that he'd asked Peter about last night. In other words, when Peter had told him that he'd informed Remus of him being sorry for what he'd done to Harry's parents.

He looked up at Remus before saying "ok then. I'll just wait for you outside Trent's office."

Remus nodded and added "eight o'clock, Harry. Please don't be late."

Harry walked out of the door and raced back to his dorm. Ron and Hermione were waiting for him in the common room and bombarded him with questions. Harry waved them off telling them that Remus just merely wanted to discuss Harry's last essay about monumental duels of the past. That satisfied them both and Harry dashed up to his bed, and pulled out the map and Sirius' mirror.

He waited until no one was around himself or Peter's cell, before contacting Peter and relaying the message Remus had given him. Peter agreed that they should both act cold to each other, and not give anything away that only the two of them knew about.

Harry then went to the Great Hall for dinner with Ron and Hermione, before meeting up with Remus outside Trent's office. Remus apologised again to Harry, before saying that he needed to be blindfolded so he wouldn't know where to find Peter after they'd come back. Harry was lead through a maze of corridors before finally Remus removed the blindfold.

"Pettigrew" Harry spat.

Peter narrowed his eyes. "What's _he_ doing here, Remus? I thought it was prohibited for students to come into this dungeon."

Remus explained the situation, and both Harry and Peter played along. Harry listened with a bored look on his face while Peter told him how sorry he was. Then Peter looked thoroughly disappointed when Harry told him in no uncertain terms that he didn't believe a word of it. The meeting lasted about half an hour, during most of which Harry spent glaring at Peter.

Once Remus and Harry had come back to Trent's office (with Harry again being blindfolded), Remus apologised once more to Harry for having to listen to Peter's story. Harry then went back to his dorm and started on his Transfiguration essay about Metamorphmagi with a content smile on his face.

* * *

The final Quidditch match of the season dawned. Gryffindor verse Slytherin. The prize at stake was the Quidditch cup. Both teams had won their opening two games, and Gryffindor was only ahead on points difference. Harry was in the dressing room giving his team talk.

"Alright, there's no nice way of saying this. Slytherin will do anything, and I mean _anything_ to win this game. It'll be the dirtiest game any of you have ever played in, namely because of their captain."

It was just Harry's luck that Malfoy had been made Slytherin captain. Now he was forced to shake his hand, something Harry was not looking forward to.

"Relax Harry, we know it'll be rough. Let's just get out there and kick some a…"

"That's quite enough, Ron. I know I'm not good at this speech stuff, so just go and enjoy the moment. Focus on your jobs. Andrew, Jack, you two make sure to disrupt their chasers as much as possible. You three…"

Harry pointed to Katie, Rick and Ginny before continuing,

"Work much better than their chasers do, so make it count. Ron, just imagine that for every goal you let through, you have to spend some quality time with Aragog."

He smirked when he saw Ron's eyes bulge, before Rick asked "who's Aragog?"

"It's just a thing between me and Ron, Rick. It's nothing worry about. I'm just trying to fire him up for this. Let's DO THIS!"

With that, Harry mounted his broom and sped off to the waiting crowd, the rest of the team following him out.

Madam Hooch walked onto the field and looked at them all.

"Now, I know that there's no point in saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I want a nice _clean_ game from all of you! Captains, shake hands" she told them all sternly.

Harry briefly grabbed Draco's outstretched hand, before dropping it just as quickly. Madam Hooch knelt down and unbuckled the bludgers and let loose the golden snitch. She picked up the quaffle and threw it up into the air.

Dennis Creevey was commentating.

"And the much anticipated game begins! Ginny Weasley with the quaffle and ooh, that's got to hurt! Hit in the arm by a bludger from Crabbe! Ouch! Weasley drops the quaffle which is now in possession of Nott!"

While this was happening, Harry was looking everywhere for the snitch, along with listening to the commentary. He _had_ to win this game, not just for himself, but to get back at Malfoy for what he did in their first Duelling class. Harry's head narrowly missed a bludger that was heading in his direction. He turned to see who had done it and came face-to-face with Malfoy instead.

"Alright there, Potter? Trying to make everyone proud, are we?" he questioned and started laughing.

Harry felt his blood slowly start to boil. With a determined look on his face, Harry raced straight towards him. The whole crowd went quiet as Harry raced towards Malfoy and forced him to abruptly change course, so that he nearly fell off his broom.

"Watch it, Potter! Unless you want something bad to happen to your mudblood friend over there" he said, jabbing his thumb over to where Hermione was sitting in the crowd. Harry's eyes shot open with anger.

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal, let Slytherin win this game and she won't get hurt, unless you're totally heartless and don't care about what happens to her" Draco said, grinning now.

Harry's eyes started to blaze with anger. Malfoy was threatening him. But what could he do? Let Slytherin win and cop the wrath from his fellow classmates? Or, should he go for the snitch and try to defend Hermione against whatever they might have in store for her. He could warn everyone when he landed on the ground about what Malfoy was going to do, but no one would hear him. They'd be too busy cheering.

While mulling this over, there was a sudden gasp. Malfoy was diving down at something and Harry realised that he must have been after the snitch, but Harry couldn't see a glint of gold anywhere near him. He was probably doing a feint. And indeed he was because when he turned around to see if Harry was following, he gave a look of disappointment before flying back up again.

'Harry, Harry!' Remus' voice could be heard inside Harry's mind.

'Don't listen to Draco. I know what he said to you, hell you're practically screaming about it in your head! Get the snitch. I'll inform Dumbledore, and nothing will happen to Hermione.'

Harry smiled and felt his anger slowly recede. He then went off in search of the snitch.

"And Weasley has the quaffle, nice dodge around Goyle there, passes to Symonds. He shoots, he scores!" The crowd let out a wild cheer. It was now 30-0 to Gryffindor. Harry was still scanning the area trying to find the snitch.

Harry grinned to himself, he decided to trick Malfoy. Do the Wronski Feint, then try and find the snitch while he was out of the way. Suddenly, Harry went down into an incredibly fast dive. Everyone gasped and turned to look, even both the Quidditch teams had stopped to stare at what was happening. Malfoy, sensing that Harry had spotted the snitch raced after him.

"It looks like Harry's spotted the snitch!" Dennis commented to the quiet crowd. All too quickly, Harry pulled up out of his dive, while Draco carried on sailing downwards and hit the ground, with a sickening crunch, rendering him unconscious. There was immediate uproar from the Slytherin's and yells of "he can't do that!"

Harry grinned and took off in the opposite direction. _This_ time, he'd spotted the snitch and was gaining on it.

"COME ON, HARRY! YOU CAN DO IT!" came Dennis' cry from the commentator's box.

Harry flew downwards, putting on a burst of speed, before pulling up inches from the ground. He flew up to where Ron was hovering in front of the goals, clutching the tiny golden ball.

Harry looked back at Ron and saw him beaming, before being engulfed by Katie and Ginny. He felt the others thumping him on the back and screaming

"WE'VE WON! WE'VE WON THE CUP!"

Harry then led the team in a slow and lazy victory lap before descending to the ground. It was pandemonium. The entire Gryffindor house had streamed onto the pitch and were waiting when the team landed.

Harry could see Professor McGonagall looking incredibly pleased. He saw Hermione waving a massive Gryffindor flag around wildly. Harry hardly heard any of the praise his house was heaping on him, before he and the rest of the team were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. He saw Dean, Seamus and Neville performing an odd looking victory jig. He saw Remus with a big grin on his face and his arm outstretched while Trent dumped a bag into it. Trent was shaking his head in disbelief.

Harry and the team then made their way onto the stage. Dumbledore presented Harry with the enormous cup that meant that Gryffindor had retained the Quidditch cup for another year. As Harry lifted the cup above his head, he heard Remus talking telepathically to him again,

'Like father like son, Harry. You'd have made James so proud.'


	25. Chapter 25 – Revenge Is A Dish Best Serv...

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Yes I know that my 'celebrations' were rather similar to those in Prisoner of Azkaban, but with some minor adjustments. So is the first little bit of this chapter.

Oh yeah, and this is the 'Easter' bit I was talking about some…10 chapters ago I believe. So if you can't handle a bit of battle action…I suggest you stop reading this chapter from about halfway onwards.

* * *

**Chapter 25 – Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold**

Harry's delight at leading the team to victory in the Quidditch cup lasted all week. He'd found out that Remus had bet Trent that Slytherin wouldn't score any goals. Since he was proved to be correct, Trent had been forced to pay up. The weather had also decided to celebrate. April had approached, and the days became cloudless. All anyone felt like doing, was taking strolls around the grounds and flopping onto the grass with several pints of pumpkin juice, or watching the giant squid doing laps of the lake.

The trouble was that they couldn't. Hermione was driving everyone mad with her increasing anxiety about exams. The only people who didn't seem to mind were the fifth and seventh years, as they had OWL's and NEWT's coming up respectively.

Harry had at last found in Sirius' books how to accurately sense other people's magical aura. He couldn't believe it, but for some strange reason, it had been in the back of the pink cook book all along. It had been so simple in the end. When Trent had cast the spell on him allowing Harry to sense the wards around Hogwarts, he had also inadvertently given Harry the ability to sense other people's signatures.

Once Harry had found in the book how to focus on people's auras, he had been flooded by everyone's aura at once. He was now working out how to single out someone's aura. So far, he could correctly focus in on Dumbledore, Remus and Trent. He had started to test himself and decided to try to sense Voldemort, when Sirius' mirror started to buzz.

Harry grabbed it and asked Peter what was wrong.

"Nothing Harry, I've just had an idea. Once you've figured out where…he is hiding, what's to say he's going to be alone? You'll need an escort to get to him."

Harry hadn't thought of that, and made a mental note to spy on Voldemort once he'd mastered his sensing ability to find out when he was alone.

"And I s'pose you want to be that escort then?"

"I do. You did promise me you'd help me get out of here" Peter reminded him.

"I know, it's just…" Harry was interrupted by voices coming from outside his dorm.

"Peter, I'll call you back!" Harry then shoved the mirror under his pillow before Dean and Seamus had wandered in.

They spotted Harry and asked him how he was getting on with his Defence essay on Banshees. Harry told them that he'd finished it last night, and was currently working his way through his Potions homework which compiled of a list and detailed description of all the potions they'd made this year. Both Seamus and Dean grimaced and mock teased Harry about what he should do with Snape during classes.

After Dean and Seamus had left for lunch, Harry telling them he really needed to finish off his homework, Harry pulled out his mirror. He checked the map to make sure it was safe before he contacted Peter.

"Right, before I was interrupted, I had a thought. Do you remember me telling you about sensing a person's magical aura?"

"Yes, I remember that. Have you found out something about it? Peter asked.

"I have, and I've almost perfected it. But I can only concentrate on a few people. I'll have to practice more to be able to sense just anyone's. But that's not what I had in mind."

"Ok, what's your suggestion then?"

"Once I have mastered this. I'll be able to tell when Voldemort is alone, and when he's got company. I'm not going to risk marching up to him when he's in the middle of a Death Eater meeting."

"Smart move, but where do I fit into this?"

"I need you to pretend to have captured me."

Peter didn't say anything for a while. Harry had another quick glance at the map and saw that no one was near Peter, so Harry knew that Peter was just thinking it over.

"You positive the Sorting Hat put you in the right house, Harry? That's worthy of a Slytherin!"

Harry sighed. "Yes. It did consider putting me there, I begged for it not to. You would've too if you'd met Malfoy!"

"I have. Well, his father anyway. Can I have some time to think this through?"

"Sure"

Harry had another quick glance at the map and saw that Snape was approaching Peter's cell.

"I'd better go. Snape's coming your way."

"Ok, thanks Harry, bye."

* * *

About halfway through dinner, Harry looked across at the staff table to see Trent whisper something to Dumbledore. At that moment, he felt his scar really burn for the first time all year. Ron immediately looked at him and asked what was wrong.

"I don't know. Something's going to happen really soon. I've got a horrible feeling about this."

Before Ron could say anything, they were interrupted by a loud siren filling the Great Hall. All of the teachers immediately leapt to their feet, pulling out their wands. Dumbledore pointed his wand at his throat before whispering a sonorus charm.

"STUDENTS, DO NOT PANIC. I NEED YOU ALL TO REMAIN SEATED FOR THE MOMENT. WE ARE UNDER ATTACK, WE NEED ONLY SIXTH AND SEVENTH YEARS TO COME WITH US. WE WILL NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET TO DEFEND THE CASTLE. PREFECTS, ONCE WE HAVE LEFT YOU MUST ENSURE THE GREAT HALL DOORS REMAIN LOCKED. NO ONE IS TO ENTER OR LEAVE. KEEP THE YOUNGER STUDENTS CALM. Quietus."

Dumbledore and the other teachers, as well as some seriously shaking sixth and seventh years, headed for the doors. Harry leapt to his feet, and could see most of the sixth and seventh years, including a few Slytherin's doing the same. As he was looking around the Hall for his friends, he noticed Draco had remained seated and was looking relaxed, with a large smirk on his face. 'He knows' Harry realised before exiting the Hall.

* * *

They found the teachers and students on the main steps, arranged with the eldest and most experienced at the front. Harry immediately headed for Dumbledore, and he looked at him in acknowledgement when Harry stood next to him, wand drawn.

Dumbledore turned his attention back to the forces emerging from the forest. There were Death Eaters, and rows of figures dressed in black robes, Dementors Harry realised. To one side, werewolves were gathered, and to the other, five giants stood, large clubs in their hands. Harry looked around the forces gathered, and tried to focus in on Voldemort's aura. He couldn't sense it, so he assumed that Voldemort hadn't come.

No one could say which side moved first. Curses, both Light and Dark, started flying through the air from both sides. Voldemort's forces were using the Unforgivables as much as they could, leaving many students and teachers alike severely injured, but thankfully none dead. Trent was tackling the Dementors, while Harry and Remus made a beeline for the werewolves. They leered at them as they approached, stretching out their nails and baring their teeth. Harry simply smirked back, summoned his swords from his dorm, before transforming, with Remus following his lead.

The werewolves didn't know what hit them as two blurs of yellow launched themselves at them with a vengeance, ripping them to shreds with curses and slices. They tried to fight back, to turn the creatures into one of them. However, Harry knew he was safe. After all, he knew that unless they caught him unawares, he could not be harmed. Remus of course, while never having to go through the transformation again, knew he also could not be infected again.

Over in the main battle, Trent was disposing of the Dementors rather effectively, using Patronus after Patronus. Ron and Hermione were helping the students and teachers fight off the wizards. At one point Dumbledore had spotted Trent throwing curses back and forth with only his hands.

Seeing wandless magic had frozen him in shock for a second, allowing a nearby wizard to send a Killing curse his way. Trent, spotting this, quickly summoned a fallen log in front of the curse. Dumbledore nearly fainted when the green light hit the log and dissipated. Quickly stunning the culprit, Trent turned back to the headmaster.

"Albus, you have to stay focused and ignore me. I thought you'd be used to this by now."

After Dumbledore gave him a sharp nod, he turned back to the fight, stunning two more of Voldemort's men.

As soon as they had finished off the werewolves, Harry turned to the problem of the giants. After they had finished with the Dementors, Trent and Hagrid had gone to help a small group of students who were trying to hold off the large beasts with little success. Harry could see that the giants were too strong for them to take down as it was, but knew if they were distracted, they could bring them down. He looked at Trent, who nodded and transformed himself. Trent then proceeded to hammer the giants with curses and hexes, while Harry attacked them with his swords.

Remus and the others were holding their own, but knew they were losing ground. Looking around when two blurs tore past, Remus was a little relieved to see Harry and Trent in their transformed state. They were distracting the creatures so the others could deal with them. Remus raised his wand and threw a series of strong stunning curses at the nearest giant. Before it was distracted, he had not been able to send enough of them in succession to have any effect. After the sixth curse the giant finally fell to the ground, and Remus went to the next giant.

* * *

They were still holding their own. Harry, Trent, Remus and Hagrid had managed to subdue the non-human creatures, and Harry was about to go over and help his friends with a small group of Death Eaters. Just as Harry tucked his swords away and sent a stunning curse at his opponent, he was hit in the back with the Cruciatus curse. Harry tried not to scream, but he dropped his wand. Once the curse was lifted, he saw who had sent it.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't wee wittle Potty."

"Lestrange" Harry spat out, noticing she had Harry's wand and was twirling it in her fingers.

"This time, you won't be getting away Potter. The Dark Lord will reward me for capturing you"

Harry noticed both Neville and Trent slowly making their way towards him and decided to stall for as much time as he could.

"Really, I believe you said a similar thing last time. You don't have a very good record of keeping promises."

Lestrange glared at Harry dangerously before raising her wand.

"Be that as it may, I will make good on this one. I'm going to have some fun with you before handing you over."

"Forget it Lestrange."

Bellatrix whirled around at the new voice and found herself on the wrong end of Trent's and Neville's wands.

"Who…who are you?" she spluttered out

"You mean you don't remember? You captured me some twenty years ago. But I managed to escape, and have a little fun along the way" Trent smirked dangerously.

Bellatrix's eyes widened in recognition.

"You're that Auror! I remember you now. I still don't know how you got away."

"Nor will you get the chance. STUPEFY!" Trent yelled at the same time Neville did.

Bellatrix crumpled to the ground. Harry, Trent and Neville stood around her body. Trent grabbed both wands Lestrange had, before tossing Harry's wand back to him.

"Who wants the honour?" Trent asked

Harry and Neville both looked at Trent with confused faces, and Trent sighed.

"Which one of you wants to dispose of her more? She's hurt both of you deeply, so decide which one of you wants to kill her, before she wakes up."

Harry and Neville turned to each with a shocked looked on their faces before Harry found his voice.

"Er" was all Harry said until he remembered what Sirius and Remus were going to do to Peter in the Shrieking Shack three years ago.

He smiled before saying, "you know, I want her to see this."

Harry bound and gagged her, before saying "Enervate."

Lestrange's eyes slowly opened then widened when she saw Harry smiling devilishly down at her. He turned to Neville and started,

"You should've realised, Lestrange, that if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would."

Harry then turned to Neville, withdrew his swords and tossed one to him, before explaining his idea.

"What do you say, Neville? She's hurt both of us. Let's do this together."

Neville's face relaxed as he understood Harry's plan. He nodded, then added

"Yeah Harry, I think that's a great idea. Even if death is too good for her."

"Today gentlemen, there's still a fight going on around us" Trent reminded them.

Neville nodded, then raised the sword.

"Ready Harry?"

Harry also raised his sword and pointed it at the person who had killed his Godfather.

"On three; one…two…three!"

The duo then thrust their weapons at the same time. Two blades slammed into Lestrange's chest and she screamed into her gag before slumping to the ground in a heap.

Neville then turned to Harry, his eyes wide. "You know, that was oddly disturbing."

Harry nodded and removed Lestrange's bindings, before the three of them made their way to help the others with the battle.

Sensing they weren't going to win, one of the Death Eaters lifted their hand in a signal and the remaining forces retreated.

* * *

Students and teachers started to pour into the Great Hall. Harry didn't hear the buzzing of the students and Professors. He didn't see any of the looks of relief on their faces. He was frozen in shock. Harry couldn't believe he'd just killed someone out of cold blood. Just like that. Just like Voldemort does. Numbness filled him and tears started to run down his cheeks. The first thing to penetrate the haze in his head was a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Trent peering down at him with deep sorrow in his eyes.

"You did the right thing, Harry. It was more than she deserved."

"She didn't deserve it like that though. That just makes me as worse as Voldemort."

Trent smiled lightly before answering,

"No Harry, the fact that you are regretting your actions makes you the opposite of Voldemort. You have saved those lives that she would have taken in the future Harry. You've given those a chance to live. I know you don't want to hear this right now, but Harry, in many people's eyes, you are the only hope in this war."

"I don't want to be the only hope. Why can't I be normal for a change?"

Trent sighed "I don't think I can answer that, Harry. If I were you, I'd have a chat about it with Remus. He's normally better at thinking about things like that."

Harry nodded slowly, and shuffled his way back to Gryffindor tower still feeling awfully numb.


	26. Chapter 26 – True Colours

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Did I give you the impression that I don't like what Bellatrix did towards the end of Order of the Phoenix! This chapter is much more…pleasant I think.

* * *

**Chapter 26 – True Colours**

The next morning had been a very subdued affair. Dumbledore had announced that fortunately no one from the school had been lost, and those who were injured were recovering in the hospital wing. Harry noted that Malfoy paled significantly when Dumbledore mentioned the casualties from Voldemort's side. The morning influx of owls came, mostly containing letters from concerned parents, but there were a few howlers directed towards Dumbledore for allowing the students to fight.

Harry was eating his toast quite slowly, still trying to get over what he'd done last night, when an owl dropped a letter in his lap. Harry picked it up, and noticed an unusual seal on the back of it. It looked vaguely similar to the Hogwarts crest, but he didn't recognise any of the symbols. He asked Ron if he knew what it was. Ron glanced at it, and then nearly choked on his eggs.

Ron quickly recovered before informing Harry about the letter.

"Harry! That's from the Department of Magical Games and Sports! They must be writing to you about your Quidditch performances this year! What are you waiting for, hurry up and open it!"

Harry ripped open the envelope and started reading.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_As you may have been aware, some Scouts were in attendance for all of the Quidditch games held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year._

_It has been brought to my attention that you displayed several impressive skills in the position of seeker. With the World Cup qualifiers coming up next year, I would like to extend an offer for you to attend our training camp._

_The training camp will take place during August, and will last for one week. If you would like to accept this offer, please send your reply via owl no later than June 1._

_Kind regards,_

_Daniel Anderson_

_Head of the English Department of Magical Games and Sports_

Harry was speechless. Ron grabbed the letter out of his hands and read it. Before long, word had gotten around the entire Hall. Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, Lupin and Fuller all smiled at Harry, while Snape looked shocked, but still managed a sneer. Everyone in Gryffindor had congratulated him, and soon members from the other tables were also coming over offering their support.

* * *

Harry was still stunned by the letter sent to him in the morning when Remus asked him to meet him in Trent's office after Duelling class. Once there, Remus then tried to talk to Harry about Peter, saying that Harry kept avoiding the subject every time Remus brought it up. But Harry refused to have anything to do with man who betrayed his parents. Peter and Harry had agreed to act like this, so no one would have any idea of what the two of them were really up to.

A couple of days passed, with Harry trying his best to ignore Remus every time he came near him. Remus was pacing back and forth across Trent's office, his hands running through his greying hair. He was muttering things like "I can't believe it…the whole time…changes everything!"

"Remus, will you please stop it. You'll wear a hole in the carpet!"

Trent jumped over his desk and grabbed him by the shoulders and spun Remus around to face him.

"Right! What in Merlin's name are you prattling on about!"

Remus just stared over Trent's shoulder before answering,

"It's Peter. Dumbledore finally let us use Veritaserum on him, and he's admitted that he was forced to give up James and Lily's location. He was telling me the truth the whole time, and I didn't believe him."

"You didn't believe Sirius was innocent at first either though" Trent argued.

"I wasn't torturing Sirius for half the ruddy year!" Remus snapped back and broke out of Trent's grasp before continuing his pacing.

Trent sighed "have you told Harry, or even Albus yet?"

Remus stopped.

"Ah, no I haven't told Harry. Dumbledore knows though."

"Which means that you'll have to tell Harry, because Albus certainly won't."

Remus bit his lip before answering, "I know. I'm not looking forward to it either. Every time I try to talk to him about Peter, he refuses to listen…"

"I'm not surprised. You would too if you were in his position. Besides, he'll have to believe you since you used Veritaserum this time."

"Maybe, but Harry can be rather stubborn at times. Where is he by the way? Have you been making sure he doesn't try to sneak off to find where Peter is?"

Trent closed his eyes for a bit, concentrating on Harry's magical signature before answering.

"Yes, yes, Remus. Harry hasn't even ventured to that part of the castle except for when he has Potion classes. He's gotten very good at suppressing his power, I can barely sense him. He's currently in his dorm, why? Are you going to tell him now?"

Remus had headed towards the door before replying to Trent.

"Yes. I think it'd be best to get this done quickly."

Remus then walked outside to talk to Harry. He needed Harry to know what had happened. This time, Remus wouldn't take Harry's silence for an answer.

* * *

Harry was talking to Peter, going over every part of their plan. Harry was now able to sense exactly where Voldemort was hiding, and how many people he had around him at any one time. Peter was telling Harry that they'd used Veritaserum on him the other night, and to act surprised if they told him anything. Harry spotted Remus' dot on the Marauder's map coming up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. He bade Peter farewell and hid both the mirror and the map in his trunk before walking down into the common room, just as Remus was entering through the portrait.

"Harry, I need to speak to you please."

Harry nodded, and motioned for Remus to follow him back to his dorm. Harry showed him where his bed was, and suggested they put up some charms in case anyone wanted to eavesdrop. Remus did the honours, casting silencing charms around Harry's bed before talking to Harry.

"You know, this used to be Sirius' bed. Did you know that?"

Harry immediately looked interested, "no, I didn't. Which were yours and my Dad's then?"

Remus pointed them out (Ron was using his father's, while Neville had Remus') then broached the subject he didn't really want to bring up.

"I spoke to Peter the other day."

Harry slumped back on his bed, and said nothing.

"We tested him under Veritaserum. Dumbledore finally allowed us to."

Harry raised his eyebrows at this, before answering

"And? What did you ask him?"

"We asked him whether or not he deliberately led Voldemort to where your parents were hiding. He said no, and that Voldemort tortured him for the information."

Harry just sat there, he had to know if they'd found out about their meetings.

"What….what else did you ask him?"

"If he knew where Voldemort was hiding. He said he didn't, and that Voldemort has several hideouts, and rotates between them regularly."

Harry nodded his head and thought 'good, he still hasn't said anything about the encounters we've had', before he said

"What happens now? He's guilty, he's admitted it. I don't think I'll ever forgive him for what he did."

Remus sighed "I know Harry, neither will I. But the least we can do is to be a bit nicer to him."

"WHAT! HE KILLED MY PARENTS, AND YOU WANT ME TO BE NICE TO HIM! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, REMUS!" Harry screamed, grateful that Peter had warned him about this, and for the silencing charms Remus put up earlier.

Remus flinched but answered, "I'm not pretending to know how you feel, Harry. You don't have to like him, I'm just saying…treat him like you do with Severus."

Harry barely suppressed a snort before saying "that's doing Snape a discredit. It'd be easier if I don't see Peter for the rest of my life, then I don't have to _treat him_ at all."

"I know it'll be hard, Harry. But please listen to me, the Peter I knew is still in there somewhere. My job of finding him will be made easier if you are a little nicer to him."

It was Harry's turn to sigh before replying "you might be right. I won't hold anything against you if you try to become his friend again. Just don't expect me to."

"I would never ask you to go that far, Harry. Thank you for understanding."

Remus then got up, removed the charms, before walking out of the dorm leaving a somewhat bemused Harry behind. Remus had no idea that 'the Peter he knew' was sitting in a cell, showing his true Gryffindor colours by helping Harry figure out a plan to get to Voldemort.


	27. Chapter 27 – The Calculated Gamble

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I like writing angry-Harry, it's really fun (even if that bit was 'fake-angry')! Ah yes, now it starts to fit together. The next two chapters were the easiest to write, despite this one being a little short.

* * *

**Chapter 27 – The Calculated Gamble**

Harry had sent off his reply the next day to Daniel Anderson about attending the training camp. He'd written that he would be delighted to be given such an opportunity, and was surprised that they had selected him. Harry had managed to discuss the Lestrange incident with Remus like Trent had suggested. Remus told him that he would rather talk about it with him over the summer if he was still worried about it, and to try not to let it affect his schooling as Harry had other worries going on. Exams were coming up fast, and he was having a hard time keeping on top of his studies as well as spying on Voldemort.

He had finally mastered his ability to sense the magical aura of anyone he knew. Harry was also able to tell when someone was alone by counting the number of auras he could sense near the person he was concentrating on. He was alone in his dorm and was going over a letter he'd just written.

_Dear friends,_

_By the time you read this, I will be gone. I have found where Voldemort is hiding and know he is alone. I'm sick of him coming after me. I want the advantage of surprise this time, and am ready to take matters into my own hands._

_You all know I have to do this, so please understand. I've taken Peter with me; he's been helping me plan this since just before Christmas. In exchange for giving me several locations of Voldemort's hideouts, I helped him escape. I found out about Peter being at Hogwarts accidentally from Remus during my training in August._

_Speaking of Remus, tell him not to worry about me. I fully intend to be the one who has control. I've told him about the prophecy, and he'll understand what I'm talking about._

_To Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna; thanks for everything guys. You always stood by me through the worst of times, namely last year when everyone was gladly sticking knives in my back._

_I sound like I'm not going to be coming back, don't I? _

_Well, I have to prepare for that eventuality. If I don't, you'll find another envelope at the bottom of my trunk which has a list of my possessions on it. I would prefer most of my money to go to the Weasley's and Remus. The rest can be used for Order purposes. My books should go to Hermione, Neville and Luna. Everything else can be split up however you want._

_I think Hagrid summed it up best; 'what comes will come, and we'll meet it when it does.'_

_Remember that this was my choice to make, and mine alone. Please don't come after me._

_Love,_

_Harry James Potter_

Harry reread the letter again, before placing it into the envelope he'd addressed to Trent and Dumbledore, then putting it at the bottom of his trunk.

* * *

Harry's classes were going along very well indeed. He could easily beat everyone else in Duelling except for his Professors. He and Hermione were the top pairing in Potions. Harry was having no trouble with Transfiguration or Charms, regularly recording grades only slightly lower than Hermione's. Defence had been going exceptionally well. Harry was able to do everything Trent had taught them without the slightest bit of trouble.

The only subject Harry was having problems with was Wandless Magic. No one had yet been able to get enough power behind any of the spells Dobby was teaching them. However, all of them were able to produce wisps of coloured light, and Dobby had been elated with it. Harry was frustrated at not making any progress since Trent had taught him in the Spirit Room over Christmas, but both Dobby and Trent told him that he'd get better with practice.

Harry had stayed in the common room since lunch, intent in studying for his upcoming exams. He had skipped dinner to finish his Defence revision, and was about to start on some more Charms study, when he suddenly smiled. He got up and went into his dorm to check the map. He saw that Peter was alone in his cell, and after placing the letter he'd written earlier on his bed, he disappeared in a flash of orange light.

Peter looked up when he heard a 'pop' and saw Harry standing there. From the look on Harry's face, he knew what was going on. This was the moment they'd both been planning for.

"Right, now to get you out of there. Just grab onto me, and we can both apparate to where he's hiding."

Peter nodded. "So he's alone then. I hope this works."

"Don't worry, Peter, I know almost exactly what I'm doing" Harry grinned.

Peter grimaced. "You scare me, Harry. Are you absolutely sure that Hat put you in the right house?"

Harry just rolled his eyes and grabbed Peter's outstretched hand before vanishing in another bright flash of orange.

* * *

Trent was having a nice quiet chat with Dumbledore in Trent's office when Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Remus all burst in.

"Trent! It's Harry. He's gone!"

"What in Merlin's name are you babbling about, Remus?" Trent asked.

Ron spoke up "he wasn't anywhere in Gryffindor tower, and I found this on his bed."

He handed Trent an envelope with a scrawl that Trent instantly recognised as Harry's.

_To be opened only by Trent Fuller or Albus Dumbledore_

Trent ripped it open and read its contents. Everyone noted that Trent had gone somewhat pale while his eyes scanned the piece of parchment. Trent looked up, his eyes a little bloodshot.

"I don't believe it. He actually did it" Trent exclaimed, his voice strangely awed

"Did what, Trent!" Remus growled.

Trent slowly turned his head towards Remus before replying,

"He's gone after Voldemort."


	28. Chapter 28 – Anger Unleashed

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

Sorry about leaving you on a bit of a cliffie, but…I couldn't resist!

* * *

**Chapter 28 – Anger Unleashed**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE AFTER HIM?" Ginny roared.

"He must've found a way to identify people's magical aura…"

"You mean _you_ taught him that! Are you INSANE!" Remus bellowed.

"No Remus, I'm perfectly sane. I refused to teach Harry that, but it didn't stop him from badgering me about it. He must have found it in a book somewhere."

"And now that he can do this, he's gone after Voldemort?" Albus inquired.

"No, he's been able to do this for a while, or he wouldn't have picked to go now."

"Why, what's so great about right now?" Ron asked.

"I can also sense auras, but only those with strong ones. Harry's letter states that he knows that at this present moment, Voldemort is alone. Well as alone as he can be, Harry and Peter are with him"

"WHAT, how did Peter get there? He was locked up for Merlin's sake!" Remus exclaimed.

"Yes, he was. But we all know Peter owes Harry a life debt. Harry said in his letter that he helped Peter to escape in return for taking him to Voldemort. This way, Voldemort still thinks that Peter's loyal to him. After all, wouldn't you if he brought you the one thing you wanted?"

"And we're just going to let him fight Voldemort alone are we!" Hermione nearly yelled.

"I'm not, but you are" Trent answered.

This immediately caused an uproar among the small group and it was some time before Trent was able to establish some quiet.

"I have to go. I'm sorry Albus, but the more I think about that prophecy Sybill made at the start of the year, the more I reckon it's talking about me, and not Harry."

"I understand, but I will accompany you"

"Like I could have forced you not to" Trent smiled.

"Then we're coming as well!" Ron exclaimed

"No" it was Remus who answered.

"You will stay here. If Harry had wanted you to go, he would've mentioned something about this to you. I will also go with you Trent, but only to make sure Peter's safe. We have only just begun to become friends again."

Another round of complaints were voiced by Ron, Hermione and Ginny, but they fell on deaf ears. Eventually the students reluctantly agreed to stay behind after being told to get Luna and Neville, then to update Professor McGonagall on their discussion. The students watched while Remus and Dumbledore grabbed a hold of Trent, before vanishing in a bright orange light.

The three students looked dumbfounded before Ron turned to Hermione.

"I thought you told us you can't do that inside Hogwarts?"

Hermione for once, didn't have an answer for that.

* * *

Darkness had descended in the English city of York, when two people appeared out of nowhere.

"So, you're sure this is where he is, Harry?" Peter asked.

Harry nodded "yes Peter, I'm positive."

They looked up at the majestic three storey house standing before them and Peter told him "that's Riddle Manor. Did you know that?"

Harry shook his head and replied "no, but let's pay him a visit shall we. Remember what I told you to say, even chuck in the bit about me killing Lestrange. I'll play along, all right?"

"Yes I know, it's just…are you sure this will work? I mean how do you know he won't kill me on sight?"

"Peter, remind me again how long he has been chasing me for?" Harry casually asked.

"You're right, you're right. Ok, I'd better bind you then."

Harry nodded and Peter bound and gagged him before bundling Harry into the house.

* * *

A tall thin figure with a snakelike face and scarlet slits for eyes was sitting in front of the fire. Lord Voldemort was planning his next move to capture Harry Potter when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"That had better be you Bella. Remember, I don't tolerate failure."

"M…my lord" Peter squeaked.

Voldemort spun his head around. "Wormtail, how did you escape? Where is Bellatrix?"

"She's dead my lord. Potter killed her himself some months ago."

"WHAT! MY MOST LOYAL FOLLOWER IS DEAD! CRUCIO!"

Peter writhed on the ground in pain before Voldemort released the curse.

"I want better news my faithful subject. We need to plan how to capture Potter and make him suffer for his insolence"

"There is no need my lord. I've captured the Potter brat and have brought him here."

Voldemort's lips curled into a small smile. "Well, why didn't you say so sooner. Bring him to me immediately!"

Peter scurried out and returned shortly after. He shoved Harry into the living room, before releasing him from his binds.

"Long time no see Potter. So good of you to drop by, pity it will be our last meeting."

Harry glared at him before replying "we both know Dumbledore will figure out where I am, _Tom_."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "NEVER call me that, Potter. You have escaped me once too often. There will be no next time. Unless…"

Voldemort looked Harry in the eye before saying "join me Potter. We'd be great together, the two most powerful wizards in the world! We'd be unbeatable!"

Harry decided to look thoughtful for a few seconds before answering. "I don't think so, _Riddle_. I've seen what happens to your followers, there's no job security. Let's get this over with."

With that, Harry drew his wand. Voldemort started to growl, but at that moment, the door burst open and into the living room stepped Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin and Trent Fuller.

"My, my, more visitors. Care for tea and a biscuit, Dumbledore? A lemondrop perhaps?" Voldemort asked, the sarcasm clearly evident in his voice.

"What're you doing here! You know what I have to do!" Harry nearly yelled.

"We do, but you know what has to happen for it to work" Trent replied.

Voldemort looked between Harry and this strange man he'd never met before, yet somehow felt oddly familiar. Voldemort turned to Harry before saying, "so Potter, you've come here to kill me have you? Well, let's try something you might remember from last year."

With that, Voldemort vanished from sight, before Trent let out a bloodcurdling scream and dropped his wand. Harry looked confused before he realised what Voldemort meant.

"He's trying to possess Trent! He did that to me in the Ministry. C'mon Trent, you can fight him off, you're stronger than he is!"

Trent looked up at Harry, the strain showing plainly on his face before speaking "I'm sorry, Harry…I told you I couldn't face him. This is why. Leave, before I lose control…and he takes me over completely. Take everything I have…read the letter in my office, third drawer. Now go!"

"But…"

"NOW!" Trent screamed, and Harry could see Trent's once hazel eyes taking on a definite red tinge.

Neither Harry, Remus, Dumbledore or Peter moved. Each were rooted to the spot, watching transfixed until Trent let out a final scream and a bright red light erupted from his body. When Harry could see again, it was no longer Trent who stood before them. It was Voldemort.

Trent's discarded wand had also come to life. It flew into Voldemort's hands. Voldemort looked surprised, but it was nothing to what happened next. As soon as Trent's and Voldemort's wands touched, they let out a blinding white light. Once Harry was able to see clearly again, Voldemort was only holding one wand.

Harry and Remus shared a look, knowing that the two wands had fused together. Trent had explained that this is what Harry's parents' wands had done on that unforgettable Halloween night over fifteen years ago.

Harry also realised that Professor Trelawney's prediction had come true; _'only one shall emerge'_. Voldemort and Trent had become one being.

"Now, THIS is the power I've been longing for. All this time my _brother_ was at Hogwarts. How could I not have realised why his name seemed familiar" Voldemort chuckled.

He then turned to Harry, "Potter, your miserable life ends here. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

"NO!" Peter screamed before pushing Harry out of the path of the curse, only to be struck in the chest himself. He fell to the ground with a 'thud', his lifeless eyes staring blankly.

"Peter! Oh Peter, not you too! We'd only just managed to get to know each other again!" Remus sank to the floor next to his friend's body and started to sob.

Harry just stood there in shock. The man who had betrayed his parents had just saved his life.

"Thank you Peter, your debt has more than been repaid" Harry whispered before looking at Voldemort and shouting "HOW COULD YOU! He was no threat to you."

Voldemort laughed. "Good riddance I say. He was a pathetic excuse for a wizard if I ever saw one.

"But now the question begs; who next? I would pick you Potter, but I'd rather break your spirit. So which one of those two do you love the most? The werewolf is your last surviving remnant of your foolish parents' lives, but without Dumbledore, Hogwarts will fall. Decisions, decisions!" Voldemort mused.

Voldemort then pointed his wand at Remus. He was oblivious to anything, as he quietly sobbed beside Peter, before Voldemort said "Avada Kedavra."

Harry watched in horror as Voldemort quickly turned and aimed at Dumbledore instead, who could do nothing before he was consumed by the burst of green light.

Remus by that time had become aware of what was going on, and moved over to where Harry was standing. He pushed the teenager behind him protectively and drew his own wand, before being interrupted by Voldemort.

"How quaint, I've seen this sight before. Ah yes I remember now. This is the same scene your pathetic father and mudblood mother had before I killed them, Potter."

An intense rage shot through Harry, the likes of which he'd never felt before. He could feel his anger rushing to the surface, ready to explode at any moment. Harry looked down at his hands and saw them starting to shake. He pushed Remus away before looking Voldemort in the eye.

"Never insult my parents again. You have no remorse whatsoever. Dumbledore was defenceless. How DARE you! HOW DARE YOU!" Harry roared as his hands curled up into fists.

Remus looked at Harry before noticing the floor beginning to shake. Voldemort must have felt this too because he said

"That's the way Potter, let it all go."

The floor continued to shake, but Harry wasn't finished. "I can't let you do this…I won't let you do this ANYMORE!"

With that, Harry let out a powerful roar, and was engulfed in a brilliant golden light which then exploded from his body. Remus shielded his eyes, and when he could refocus, he was speechless.

As he dusted himself off, he looked around. The room they were standing in was hardly recognisable anymore. The explosion had taken out most of the walls, and those panels that had remained were still smouldering. The fireplace was totally demolished. He looked towards where Harry had been and his jaw dropped.

There stood Harry, completely surrounded by a deep golden glow, his hair sticking up more than usual. But the most extraordinary thing was that Harry's hair was also golden, the exact same colour as Trent's hair had always been.

"H…Harry…"

"Wait outside, Remus. I'll be with you in a moment" Harry snarled.

Remus nodded then took off outside still amazed at what he'd seen. 'Trent was right. He is easily the most powerful wizard I've met. Not yet seventeen and he's fully transformed. Incredible.' Remus just shook his head as he arrived outside and waited for Harry. 'I just hope you know what you're doing Harry. Don't lose control whatever you do.'

Once Remus had left the room, Harry faced Voldemort again and raised his arm at a shocked Voldemort's chest before saying,

"Majoro Statisio!"

Instead of the normal wisps Harry had produced in class, a brilliant light green jet burst forward from Harry's outstretched hand.

Voldemort quickly threw up a shield charm, but the spell tore through it and struck him, rendering him immobile. Harry calmly walked over to his nemesis before eyeballing him and talking in a dangerously low voice.

"Unlike you, I have morals. I give you this warning, Tom Marvolo Riddle; the next time we meet will be the last. And you'll be begging for mercy when I'm through with you."

With that, Harry spun on his heel and picked up his wand, which he'd dropped during his transformation. He then grabbed Peter's and Dumbledore's bodies before walking outside to a waiting Remus. He suppressed his power and his hair went back to its normal messy black self.

"Harry! Are you all right? What happened in there?" Remus asked, his voice full of concern.

"I'll explain when we get back. Let's go home"

Remus nodded, "Ok, beam us back Harry."

He then grabbed onto Harry and both of them vanished in another flash of orange light.


	29. Chapter 29 – Explanations

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

How'd you like my take on a classic DBZ moment? I thoroughly enjoyed writing that chapter! I originally called the last chapter 'Explosion Of Anger' until I realised this was actually the name of a Dragonball episode, so I changed it.

And yes, they are both dead. In no way will they be miraculously brought back to life, and nor will any other character I have, or those who JKR has already, killed off.

* * *

**Chapter 29 – Explanations**

Minerva McGonagall was sitting in her office, listening as the three teenagers (Ron, Hermione and Ginny) explained what happened earlier. Ron explained how no one had seen Harry since lunch earlier that day, while Ginny and Hermione told her about the letter Harry had left. How Trent said that both he and Peter had gone after Voldemort, and finally that Trent, Remus and Dumbledore had left to go and find him. After they'd finished describing the events, McGonagall sat in silence for a little while before answering,

"I think it would be best if we all waited in the Headmaster's office. Hopefully they won't be long and will be back to answer some of our questions. I'll go and get some of the other Professors, after all the fact that Professor Fuller was able to breach the wards so easily is of great concern, and we may need their assistance in coming up with more stringent defences. Never mind the fact that Potter himself has a _lot_ of explaining to do."

With that the four of them headed into the halls. Ron Hermione and Ginny left to find Luna and Neville, before heading to Dumbledore's office, while McGonagall went to gather the Professors who were part of the Order.

While the students were waiting outside Dumbledore's office for Professor McGonagall to return, they heard a noise from inside the office. Before they had time to even think about what it could be, Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Vector and Hagrid had turned the last corner and were standing in front of the gargoyle. After speaking the password, the ten of them made their way into the Headmaster's office. It was Snape who strode through the double doors first then stopped in his tracks.

"Severus, what is it, you looked like you've just seen a ghost" McGonagall said.

"'e might as well 'ave! Dumbledore!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"He's dead. Voldemort made sure of that" Remus sadly said.

"Harry! Professor Lupin! What happened? Where's Professor Fuller?" Hermione asked.

"It's a long story, Hermione" Harry told her.

"We've got time, Potter" McGonagall answered.

"I know. I'm just trying to figure out the easiest way to start this."

"How about at the beginning, Potter. It's usually the best place to start" Snape sneered.

Harry glared "I'm aware of that, _Professor_. Alright then, you remember what happened last year at the Department of Mysteries right?" Harry asked, his attention on his five friends.

They nodded, so Harry continued "then you'll remember that prophecy that they wanted so badly."

"The one that got smashed? What's that got to do with this?" Neville asked.

"Everything, Neville, let me explain. That prophecy was foretold shortly before I was born, and Voldemort knew it had been made. The thing that got smashed in the Ministry was the record of it, but two people heard it the night it was made" Harry continued.

"Who?" Ron inquired.

"Dumbledore was one, the other was one of Voldemort's spies, but they only heard the first bit of it. That's why Voldemort wanted it so badly. He doesn't know the rest of it. When I came back from the Ministry, Dumbledore decided to tell me what the prophecy said."

No one said anything, so Harry just carried on. He glanced at Flitwick and Vector, before remembering they were both part of the Order.

"This is strictly Order business. This goes no further than these walls, all right?"

"And don't even think about asking Harry's friends to leave. This has just as much to do with them as it does for the rest of us" Remus added.

Everyone nodded, even Snape.

"The first part, the bit Voldemort knows, is this; _'the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies'_. Yes Neville, it could've applied to you too at that stage" Harry said after noticing Neville's face starting to lose some of its colour.

"It's the next part that makes it apply to me; _'the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not'_."

Harry took a deep breath before continuing,

"Obviously, it's referring to my scar he gave me that night. Anyway, the rest of it goes; _'either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born as the seventh month dies'_."

Ginny was the first to speak up. "So, that's it then? This is the reason he keeps coming after you? I mean, the first part is easy enough to understand. But both of you are alive right now, so I don't understand the end of it."

"Nor do I Ginny. The closest I can get to an answer, is that neither of us will have complete control over our lives until the other is dead."

"Explain what you mean by that, Mr. Potter" Flitwick squeaked.

"Well, what I mean is that I'm always looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to attack me next. And he's busy trying to come up with new ways to kill me. We're not really leading very productive lives, are we" Harry replied.

Everyone just stood there, lost in their own thoughts until Remus spoke up.

"We might as well tell them about Trent too."

Harry nodded. He proceeded to retell the stories that Trent had told him and Remus during their training, about how Trent is Voldemort's brother. How it was he who rescued Harry that Halloween night in 1981, and about what happened with Harry's parents wands.

Everyone sat in enthralled silence as Harry finally told them about how Trent, Remus and he all felt that Professor Trelawney's prediction at the start of the school year was referring to Trent, and not Harry. Remus then told them how reluctant Trent was to fight Voldemort, despite Harry's pleading.

"Why did you want him to fight Voldemort?" Hermione asked.

"Trent is very powerful, even more so than Voldemort. I thought that he'd be able to basically leave Voldemort for dead, then allow me to finish him off" Harry answered.

"But it's not that simple" Remus countered.

Once again, Harry and Remus saw ten confused faces, even Luna. So they explained how for Harry to beat Voldemort for good, he must also kill Trent. Once Remus and Harry had completed the tale that Trent had told them in the Spirit Room, Remus turned to Harry and addressed the sixteen year old.

"I think you've got some clearing up to do, Harry. Why did you go after him in the first place? How did you know where Peter was being held here? And when did you perfect your ability to sense someone's energy?"

Harry looked up at his surrogate Godfather before replying somewhat sheepishly, "I guess this will take a while too."

Harry then launched into the story of his sixth year thus far. How he'd transformed for the first time the day he came to Grimmauld Place in July. That Remus and Trent had trained him to control his power and to become stronger. About the extra lessons Trent had been giving him in Dark Arts and Apparition.

When he came to how he saw Peter on the Marauder's map, Harry hesitated. He didn't want to risk it being confiscated. He racked his brain before explaining that he'd used the Room of Requirement to find out where Pettigrew was being held, after he'd heard Remus say he was being held somewhere in Hogwarts (Remus looked thunderstruck, but said nothing).

Once he knew this, he then told them how he snuck in, under his invisibility cloak, and gave Peter one of Sirius' mirrors hiding it in his cell. He then apologised to Remus for lying about using the other mirror, thus allowing Harry to contact Peter whenever he felt like it.

Harry next explained how Peter convinced Harry to help him escape in exchange for showing Harry all of Voldemort's hiding places. Ginny then interrupted saying that this didn't explain how Harry had managed to know which one Voldemort was actually at, but Harry told her that he was getting to that.

Harry informed them of finding all of the Dark Arts books in his vault he had inherited from Sirius. How the process of sensing one's energy signal was described in a few of them. Harry explained how he'd briefly practiced how to sense energy with Trent and Remus in the Room of Spirit and Time, before getting more involved in it once he'd found this in the books.

He told them how it took him until early March before he was able to correctly sense which energy signal belonged to which person. Harry said that he would have been able to accomplish this much quicker, but Trent had refused to help him. This was because Trent had feared that Harry would seek out Voldemort, before he was ready to face him. Everyone in the room had to agree that Trent had a valid point.

After explaining how he'd managed to distinguish Voldemort's magical energy, he then told how he basically spied on him, biding his time until Voldemort was alone before going after him. Harry told them about the letter he'd left, the plan he and Peter had come up with before Harry had broken Peter out. Finally Harry told them how he'd apparated both Peter and himself to the Riddle Manor to face Voldemort, with Harry posing as Peter's prisoner.

The sun had just started to rise, when Remus then spoke up. He told them that he, Dumbledore and Trent had also apparated to where Harry was once the letter was found. Remus proceeded to tell everyone his version of what had happened inside the Riddle Manor. About Voldemort taking over Trent's body before killing both Peter and Dumbledore. How Trent's and Voldemort's wands fused together. Everyone was absolutely flabbergasted when Remus told them about Harry's transformation. He then let Harry explain the parts of the story that Remus was unaware of.

Harry told them how Voldemort had taunted him and offered Harry a place beside him. His friends looked at Harry in awe as his eyes narrowed when he told them that he'd never join the person who killed his parents. He explained how he'd incapacitated Voldemort, before returning to Hogwarts with Remus and the bodies of Pettigrew and Dumbledore.

Harry sat back after finishing his story, and allowed it to sink in for everyone before McGonagall spoke up.

"Well, Potter, it seems you've had a rather busy year. I'm afraid I must take 150 points off for all the rules you've broken, but I am _astounded_ that you were able to do what you did. I will award you fifty points for single-handedly stopping You-Know-Who…again, and bringing those three back with you."

Snape looked livid before screaming "you can't be serious, Minerva! Of all the ludicrous things that brat has done, this is by far the stupidest! He deserves to be expelled!"

"Then it's a good thing I'm his Head of House and not you then, isn't it Severus?" McGonagall calmly said before speaking again.

"I guess we'll have to do all the preparations. As Deputy, I will assume the temporary role of Headmistress until everything has been arranged for a proper election. Filius, you are the next most senior Professor, so I ask you to act as my Deputy until further arrangements have been made."

Flitwick nodded. McGonagall then sighed before turning to Remus.

"I know this is a bad time Remus, but would you please take all of Trent's classes until the end of the year?"

Remus agreed, and McGonagall faced the students.

"You six need to get back to your dorms. Further announcements will be made at breakfast. I suggest you all get some sleep before then."

They nodded before Minerva escorted them outside into the hall. No one said anything as they walked slowly back towards Gryffindor tower. Indeed, no one even noticed when Luna branched off heading towards Ravenclaw's tower.

They filed into Gryffindor common room, each lost in their own thoughts, before Hermione spoke up.

"Harry, what was that spell you used on Voldemort? I don't think I've heard of something like that before."

"Unless you've read books on wandless magic Hermione, you wouldn't have. It's called the Immobilisation charm. It's a cross between being stunned and petrified. You're aware of what's going on around you, but can't move. There's no known counter spell for it, but it wears off after ten minutes or so. Anyway, I think I'll stay down here. There's no point in me trying to get some sleep, I know I won't."

Neville looked at Harry before saying "I agree, my brain is still trying to come to terms with everything that you told us. I hardly think I'm in any position to get sleep either."

The others agreed, and instead they sat in front of the fire, in silence until the first students started coming down the stairs from their dorms ready to go to breakfast.


	30. Chapter 30 – A New Day Dawns

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I hated the ending of the last chapter (it was the worst I wrote I felt). I just couldn't get it right, so I plumped for the easiest way to end it that I could think of.

* * *

**Chapter 30 – A New Day Dawns**

As Harry and the rest walked into the Hall, they could sense that something was terribly wrong. All the teachers, including Snape, were sitting there in silence, waiting for all the students to file in. There were other people who had arrived as well. Harry recognised Minister Fudge, Kingsley and Tonks. Harry guessed that the other people in attendance were more Aurors. Even Peeves wasn't acting his overly jovial self.

Once everyone was seated, McGonagall stood up and addressed those gathered.

"Good morning everyone, last night, something tragic happened. Albus Dumbledore was killed by You-Know-Who."

A sharp intake of breath could be heard by most of those gathered. Others just stared in disbelief.

"Albus was a truly great wizard, and an even better Headmaster. Albus had gone to the rescue of Harry Potter who had been captured."

Harry could feel everyone looking at him wide-eyed.

"Albus managed to get Harry safely away, but unfortunately, he was unable to return. It is with great regret that I will assume the role of Headmistress, with Professor Flitwick being my Deputy, until further arrangements can be made."

Harry saw Minister Fudge stand up and address the crowd.

"As Minister of Magic, I feel it is my duty to accept your conditions, Minerva. I would like to arrange a meeting with you and your fellow staff. I think it would also be best if Mr. Potter also attends."

McGonagall nodded her head, before allowing everyone to start breakfast. No one said anything, they were all too stunned. Harry felt numb. He couldn't believe that Dumbledore was gone. He'd always felt that Dumbledore was invincible, and that he would somehow always be there. Harry realised with a pang of guilt, that he had played a large role in the death of one of the greatest wizards ever to have lived.

* * *

Harry made his way to Professor McGonagall's office. She had moved into Dumbledore's office, but Harry didn't think he'd ever feel comfortable with calling it hers. Harry sat down in the seat offered to him by McGonagall, before she spoke up.

"Thank you, Harry, for attending. Everyone in this room is aware of the events of last night. How you were captured and taken, before Remus, Trent and Albus came to your rescue."

Harry swore he could see Remus winking at him, so he decided to play along. Harry nodded before Professor McGonagall continued,

"One of the first things we'll need to do is to change the wards. We know that Trent was able to apparate through the current ones. Since…he has taken over Trent's body, he'll be able to do the same. Any suggestions?"

Professor Flitwick spoke up after a short silence.

"We could make it so the wards are constantly changing. That way, you won't be able to get a lock onto the magical signature to even try to apparate."

"Not a bad thought, Filius. Any idea what charms we could use?"

"Well, there is a method of combining the Fidelius and Imprisonment charms that I've heard about. It's still under development, but I think it might work."

Professor Flitwick then proceeded to tell them about the intricacies of the charm, and how the house elves would need to be notified of the changes.

* * *

Harry felt his exams had gone extremely well, considering the circumstances, and this was reflected in his results. He topped the class in Defence, Duelling and Wandless Magic, and had been in the top four for the rest of them.

Harry had made fun of Ron saying that after he had been attacked by those brains at the Department of Mysteries last year, how he should have been top of every class. Ron had glared daggers at Harry before Ginny explained how the brains had had no effect on the way Ron was. This caused a round of laughs from Harry, Hermione and Neville before Ron was able to quieten them down despite his ears getting that familiar red tinge.

Overall Harry felt it had been a very successful year, despite how it had ended. His mind drifted back to what Trent had said just before Voldemort consumed him. He decided to pay Remus a visit to see if he found the letter Trent had mentioned was in his drawer.

Harry walked into Remus' office and saw his surrogate Godfather packing his things away for the year. He looked up and smiled as Harry came in.

"Good evening, Harry, I'm just packing a few things away. Minerva's asked me to take the Defence post for next year which I accepted."

"Really? That's great, Remus."

His friend smiled before asking "that's not why you came here though, is it. How can I help you?"

Harry nodded, "did you happen to find that letter Trent was talking about?"

"Oh that, yes I did. It's addressed to you, so I haven't opened it. Let me get it for you."

He grabbed an envelope out of the top drawer before handing it to Harry. He opened it to see what was inside, and found a letter and a blank card. Harry picked up the letter and began to read it.

_Dear Harry_

_If you're reading this, then our guess that Trelawney's prediction being about me and not you has proven to be correct. It will also mean that I am either dead or more than likely, that Voldemort has found out my true identity, and taken me over._

_That last bit might come as a shock to you, but this was the main reason I never wanted to face Voldemort. I know you managed to throw him out of your mind last year in the Ministry, but despite my being magically stronger, I will be forever a part of him. I knew that if he attempted that on me, he would succeed and take me over completely._

_I never told you or anyone else, but I was aware of you meeting with Peter a couple times this year. I didn't say anything because you obviously just wanted some answers to a few very difficult questions._

_There was so much I wanted to teach you Harry. You truly are an amazing wizard. I only hope you continue to train, because not only do you now have to beat Voldemort, you must also find a way to defeat me as well. He will now know everything I do, including wandless magic and martial arts._

_I will leave you with two final things. The first is this; if Voldemort has overpowered me, know that he will not be able to enter the Spirit Room as I have used my quota. You will always have that as a place to train in. _

_The second thing? You might have noticed a card in the envelope. If you tried to read it before this, you'd have found it was blank. That's because I wanted you to read this letter first. I think you'll be moderately surprised with what you'll find._

_Regards,_

_Trent_

Harry then picked up the card and saw two keys charmed on its inside. He nearly gasped as he recognised one of the keys being that to Trent's Jaguar. He then proceeded to read the card.

_G'day again!_

_If you're as smart as I think you are, you'll know the significance of one of these keys. I hope you have as much fun in it as I did. The other key is the one to my vault in Australia. I'll leave you with everything I have Harry. You'll find my pride and joy in my vault. _

_You'll have to send a letter to the National Wizarding Bank of Australia to get access to it. If you address it to Mike Knight, and mention the phrase 'the dingo is dead', the whole process will be much smoother. _

_Trent_

Harry looked up at Remus.

"What's a dingo?"

Remus let out a chuckle before answering,

"Harry, a dingo is an Australian animal. It's kind of a cross between a dog, a fox and a wolf. Trent told me that was his nickname at his school, like mine was Moony. He felt it was appropriate. A fox is sly, a wolf is cunning, and a dog is loyal. I think that best describes Trent, don't you?"

Harry nodded before showing Remus the letter and card. Remus sat down to scan them and nodded.

"I thought something was amiss. I felt it strange he volunteered to go and bring you back when he was so against fighting Voldemort. What does he mean about you having as much fun as he did?"

Harry smiled, "he's given me his car"

Remus actually fell off his chair.

Once he'd managed to drag himself back up, he managed to say "you're joking! He loved that thing. When do you want to transfer everything over to your vault?"

"I'm not sure. I guess as soon as possible. But I just thought of something. I can't go back to the Dursley's can I? Trent knows where it is. He also knows about Grimmauld Place. Was he part of the Order?"

Remus shook his head "no he wasn't. He didn't want to join or even know it existed, possibly in case something like this did happen. You're right though, the Order will have to move. We do have a backup residence, but there could be a slight problem."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"The house isn't rightfully ours. We'll have to ask permission to use it. I'll go and see Minerva about this."

Remus got up and walked out of the office leaving behind an incredibly confused Harry.


	31. Chapter 31 – One More Surprise

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I wish someone would just 'give' me a supercar! So what's going to happen to Harry? Read the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Dormant Power to find out! Yes, this is the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading my story as much as I did while writing it. There will be an epilogue, and it'll be mostly about what I hope to cover in my sequel for those interested.

* * *

**Chapter 31 – One More Surprise**

Everyone was packing up their things before heading down for the closing feast. Harry hadn't heard back from Remus about not going back to the Dursley's, so he assumed that he would be spending his summer at Privet Drive once again. He, Ron and Hermione made their way towards the Great Hall for the final time as sixth years.

As they entered the Hall, they noticed that like in fourth year, it was decorated in black banners. McGonagall said the usual things one expected in the closing speech, but Harry wasn't really paying attention. He was still finding it hard to acknowledge that he wouldn't see the half-moon glasses of Albus Dumbledore ever grace the halls of Hogwarts again.

Ginny dragged him out of his stupor when she piled some food on his plate. Harry smiled at her, before trying to eat something to keep down his feeling of dread. The feast finished, and Harry quickly made his way back to the dorm to finish packing. He was ready to shrink his things when he remembered about the mirror he'd given to Peter. Harry apparated to where Peter's empty cell was, and lifted the bricks up but found that the mirror was gone.

"Looking for this?"

He whirled around and came face-to-face with Remus. Harry felt his face flush with embarrassment before nodding. Remus walked over to him and looked Harry in the eye.

"You do understand that I'm not mad with you for using this like you did."

Harry was a little surprised. "You…you aren't? Oh, I get it. You're really annoyed at me instead, aren't you?"

Remus smiled before answering "no, Harry, I'm not annoyed either. Disappointed yes, but not too disappointed. Not many people would have given Peter a chance to redeem himself. You allowed him to repay the debt he owed you, which he did."

Harry looked up into Remus' eyes, "but you're the last one left. You must hate me for getting Peter killed."

"I don't hold you responsible, Harry. You managed to get the Peter I knew as a friend to come back in the end. Besides, I was torturing him for half the year, so I can't really be that angry at you."

Harry nodded then asked the next question on his mind, "so what's being done about me? Where am I going to be staying?"

"You'll find out once you get off the train. We've taken some precautions, so don't worry about it. In fact, I'd like to hope you might enjoy your summer this time."

Remus smiled, and Harry returned it.

"You know something? I reckon you must've been the most dangerous of the four Marauders."

Remus looked highly confused. "Why do you say that?"

Harry grinned maliciously before replying "you answered my question, yet didn't give me any useful information. All in all, you're one cunning wolf boy!"

Remus growled and made a lunge for Harry, who laughed before apparating back to his dorm, leaving Remus sprawled on the ground after grabbing nothing but air.

* * *

The train ride back to Kings Cross had been a somewhat sombre affair. Harry didn't want to talk to anyone, and the others let him have his space. In fact, as the train pulled into the station, Harry realised that it was the first time since his third year that Malfoy hadn't bothered them on the train. He wasn't surprised to see Kingsley, Tonks (this time with deep blue coloured hair) and Mad-Eye Moody waiting for him when he got off.

"I guess you guys are here to talk to the Dursley's again then?"

"No, they're not actually" Remus answered as he got off the train behind him.

"We're here to take you to your new summer house" Tonks said.

"What about the Dursley's? Won't they be in danger?"

Mad-Eye raised his eyebrows at Harry before replying in his gruff voice, "I thought you didn't care about them, Potter."

Harry shrugged "I know they're not the nicest people going around…"

"That's the understatement of the century! Don't you remember the bars they put up on your windows in second year?" Ron interrupted.

"Of course I remember. I'm just saying that despite all that, they ARE the only family I have. I don't want to see them hurt."

"Fine, we'll pick them up later then Potter" Mad-Eye replied.

Ron, Ginny and Hermione were soon engulfed by their parents. After a quick goodbye and promises of seeing him soon, Harry was left with the group of the four adults. Remus then grabbed Harry and the two of them apparated.

When Harry looked around to get his bearings, he realised they were at Godric's Hollow.

"What did you bring me here for? I don't really feel like visiting Sirius or my parents right at this moment…"

"I didn't bring you here for that, Harry. See that house over there?"

Harry looked at where Remus was pointing. He saw the same house that was on the property that Remus had said belonged to his parents. There were several trees at the front of the property that now made seeing the house quite difficult.

"Yeah, what about it? You told me just before Sirius' funeral that it was where my parents used to live."

Remus smiled before answering, "correct. That house has been fifteen years in the making."

Harry looked confused, before it clicked.

"You mean _you_ built that place!"

"I did. Didn't you ever wonder why I hardly ever buy anything new?"

"Of course I wondered, but I just thought it was because you could never find a job. I believe you said something along the lines of it being one of the hazards of being a werewolf."

"That's partly true. I couldn't find a job in the wizarding world, but I was able to pick up some part time muggle jobs to keep me going. I spent most of my money building this place. Obviously once Sirius had been freed, he was able to help enormously with the funding."

"So this is the new…er, place then?" Harry inquired, careful to not say 'headquarters'.

Remus nodded, "would you like to see the inside?"

"Sure I would. Why didn't you tell me about this place before?"

"It wasn't finished until this February, at least not the interior."

Harry nodded before Remus beckoned him indoors. Harry gasped. The inside was incredible.

To their right was a set of enormous white marble doors, which reached up to the top of the twenty foot high ceiling. The ceiling itself was a deep rich mahogany timber, matching well with the doors, and had carvings around the edges. The walls were also deep mahogany, decorated with assorted paintings, mostly muggle in origin, but some from different magical cultures.

The floor, like the ceiling and walls, were timber, but not as rich in colour. The living room had little furniture, only the occasional table with some strategically placed lamps littered throughout. The fireplace located on the back wall was the biggest Harry had seen, eight feet high and ten feet across. The mantelpiece was made of deep ebony, decorated in ivory trimmings. These were delicately carved to make the bone colour stand out against the black.

Above the fireplace was a large empty picture frame. To the left of the fireplace was a vast staircase of black onyx, which filled the centre of the room and grew narrower towards the top. It then split in two directions, each leading to a balcony on either side of the room.

On the ground floor, doors could be seen leading off from the main hall, obviously leading to some more corridors. The whole area was illuminated by several glowing crystals floating near the ceiling. Although they didn't seem to be giving off a very bright light, what they did emit spread around the hall, giving it an ethereal look.

Harry was speechless. He'd never seen anything like it. This place felt more magical than Hogwarts itself.

"You sure this place only took fifteen years to build? You didn't mean fifty, did you?"

Remus smiled at the young wizard in front of him.

"I'm sure. There's only two levels, and we're currently on the ground floor. This place has twelve bedrooms, four bathrooms, two libraries, and three studies. It also has numerous other rooms which are currently empty. I am kind of hoping to turn one of them into a training room."

Harry looked around in awe before he remembered something Remus had told him before they left on the train.

"Whose place is it then? You said you built it, but you also mentioned needing permission to use it."

Remus handed Harry a note for him to read.

_The optional location of the Order of the Phoenix is located at MM._

"That's Sirius' writing isn't it? Was this place his then? And what's MM?"

"Yes and no, Harry. It is Sirius' writing, but it's not his house. You'll find out soon enough what MM is. I was going to make Sirius secret keeper for this place. However, I never got the chance. I'd like you to be the new secret keeper for it."

Harry was taken aback, "why me?"

"Because who expects a student to be named secret keeper for a top secret organisation?" Remus replied.

Remus then began to walk back outside, so Harry followed him, still bewildered with everything that had just happened.

"The charms are all in place, you just need to accept the role. You studied the Fidelius charm this year, correct?"

Harry nodded. He knew the role of the secret keeper; they were the only person who knew the exact location of the object being hidden, and only they could divulge that information to others. The whole charm consisted of two spells; the one around the object being obscured, 'Fildelio Concealius', and the secret keeper. The person who casts the Fidelius charm must also place the spell on the secret keeper. The incantation for that part of the charm was 'Fidelio Privitus'.

"Then you understand what I need to do to you."

"Wait a second, _you_ cast the charm? That's impressive, Remus. Professor Flitwick told us how difficult it is to get it right."

Remus blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Thank you, Harry. Will you let me cast the final part on you?"

Harry nodded and he saw Remus look around to make sure no one else was watching before saying "Fidelio Privitus."

Harry then saw both the house and himself glow a soft blue colour before the glow vanished. Remus then gave Harry a piece of parchment to write the address of the house on.

"Nice work, Remus, it worked perfectly" a gruff voice behind them said.

Harry turned and saw Mad-Eye Moody, with Kingsley, Tonks, and three very dishevelled Dursley's.

"Wh…what just happened? Where'd that house go?" Dudley squeaked out.

Harry realised that since the charm had been completed, he was the only one who could actually see the house. Only after he wrote down the instructions on the piece of parchment Remus gave him, could others be able to see it. And that was only once they'd actually read Harry's note.

"Magic, Dudley, that's what happened. So whose permission do you need to get to use this place then, Remus?"

Remus smiled somewhat sheepishly at Harry before answering "ah…yours actually. Welcome Harry, to Marauder's Mansion."

Harry might have seen or heard the Dursley's faint, if he hadn't done exactly that.

_**Fin**_


	32. Sort of an Epilogue

I own nothing, J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. All my 'ideas' are basically ripped from stuff I enjoy; Harry Potter (duh!), Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonball, The Matrix, The Lion King, 24, and anything else that even remotely looks far too creative for me to just make up! Don't say I didn't warn you alright!

I probably didn't really need to write the 'warning' for this, oh well. Anyway, here's a little preview into what to expect with the sequel.

* * *

**Epilogue (kind of!)**

Right, so that's it. My first ever fanfic is over. I hope you enjoyed it. Now you know what MM stands for (who said that! Who said 'Malfoy Manor'! NO! Try again!). Harry's sixth year is finished and I've also finished his final year. It will be called 'Harry Potter and the Beginning of the End' (in case you hadn't already visited my 'homepage' thingy in the past month or so and didn't know that).

Here's the full summary I would prefer to use, but won't due to its length;

_Harry returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his seventh and final year. Voldemort has decided that without Dumbledore, the moment is right to strike. Old faces will return, tentative alliances will be made and more lives will be lost. In order to fulfil the prophecy, Harry will need to rise to the occasion one final time._

If you think it's pretty simple and vague, you'd be right. I'm not going to give too much away! Those on IMDB will know a little of what I have planned, but even they don't know the half of it, believe me (sorry guys, but it IS true)!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to my story via reviews and emails. Your comments and ideas were welcomed, and it was nice to know that I wasn't writing something no one wanted to read! I know my grammar isn't exactly perfect, but I sincerely hope you were still able to figure out the main gist of my storyline.

There are some unanswered questions from this, and JKR's previous five stories that have been written which I shall try to answer in my sequel. Things like; Snape's history, why Harry can't use Avada Kedavra, more info about the Potter's, the Marauder's oath (no I haven't forgotten about that from chapter 4), will Harry make the grade at Quidditch camp, why Voldemort didn't die when his curse backfired, and of course how will the prophecy play out?

So if that sounds like it's your kind of story, then hopefully I won't disappoint you! Remember this though; they are all pretty much just MY ideas as to how those things will play out. I know they'll be wrong but let's face it, only one person knows exactly what Harry's final two years will be like, and she may start telling us on July 16!

Just a couple more things to round this off. My book 7 is a bit darker than Dormant was (well, I believe it is anyway), and Harry won't be learning that much during classes. He'll learn some stuff, but most of the action takes place outside of Hogwarts, and Harry learns a lot from…other sources. So don't come back to me and say that Harry doesn't seem to be in many classes because that is how I want it to be!

Er, since I am (apparently) one of the most 'popular' from our IMDb fanfic group…I will plug my fellow ficcers FFN addy's! We're all a big team, and generally help each other out when we get stuck with them, so…here they; isis3110, peanuts107, shyngreat, supernova8610, songofstars, PhilosophiLapis, and hippiechick7897.

Thanks again, and I'll start posting the sequel soon.


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